The Legend of the White Fang
by MajinSM
Summary: Book 2 of Flightless Macaw, Nameless Raven. Blu and Jewel have been sent by the Keeper of Balance to an alternate version of Earth's past, and after helping a Night Fury and a young teenage boy, they find themselves caught up in a massive power struggle between Berk, trappers, hunters, killers, and an entire foreign country. Will their hearts and their relationship survive intact?
1. 1: Land of the Watery Grave

**And so begins the second Book of **_**Flightless Macaw, Nameless Raven.**_** I don't have very much to say, so that out of the way, let's hop right in. There will be four story arcs, the arcs of the first three **_**How to Train Your Dragon**_** movies, and a final one I am calling the British Invasion arc.**

**Side note: this story will not chronicle Shisui's journey in Japan, and will only briefly reference him, which is why the crossover story labeled in tandem with **_**Rio**_** is **_**not**_** Naruto.**

**One last note: my personal headcanon for this crossover is that dragons are descended from the ancestors of modern birds, and thus, whenever I refer to one or multiple dragons ambiguously and Blu, Jewel, or another bird is with them, I will simply refer to the entire group as avians to prevent needless confusion.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Land of the Watery Grave**

Blu stumbled out of the portal, Jewel losing grasp of his wing as she quickly followed. Blu tried to get his bearings, but felt something was _off_… he also had the feeling that was putting it lightly. Next to him, Jewel examined a flower that was commonly found outside Rio. "What the… this flower is _not_ that small. It's half my size!"

Blu turned a worried glance to Jewel- and his brain promptly shut down. Standing next to a flower he had become _very_ familiar with was Jewel… only it seemed the flower had shrunk. _No,_ Blu revised that thought in his head once he regained higher cognitive function, _either that flower is smaller in this world… or we're __**bigger**__._

Blu looked around for a measuring point, and right at that moment, a snake slithered by, apparently unaware of its potential prey right next to it. Blu's eyes widened; he recognized that specific species of snake from the Encyclopedia Britannia, and it was easily as thick around as the bottom half of Blu's body was tall.

He turned back to Jewel, who had turned a confused, skeptical gaze to him. "Blu, do you… do you know what's going on?"

Blu's mind went to work to come up with an answer that would pacify Jewel, and after a moment, he hit upon a possible conclusion. "The only thing I can think of is that that _portal_… whatever must have allowed it to function when every law of natural and quantum physics should make it completely impossible to _exist_… must have changed our bodies in some way during the transition. And based on the snake I just saw, and the flower you were just looking at… I'd have to say we're not five inches tall anymore."

Jewel's mind predictably blanked out, before she returned to herself and let out a confused giggle. "I got absolutely none of that." She nuzzled her head into Blu's chest. "Except for the part where we're somehow much larger birds than before."

She turned her head up to Blu's contemplative gaze, a very familiar thousand-yard stare etched onto his features. "I guess we've now broken _two_ world records."

"How do you figure? And what's a world record?"

Blu chuckled, then explained the basics of how a World Record, as defined by Guinness, the major authority on such matters, worked. Jewel gave a half-hearted nod of understanding. "Alright, so what's this world record we've broken?"

"Largest species of bird ever recorded."

Jewel chuckled. "Well, we actually won't have it until it's fact."

Blu nodded. "Yeah, you're definitely not wrong there. But that's not important. Now that we're in this new world, we need to get our bearings. Let's fly up above the trees and… What the _hell_ is that?!"

Jewel quickly followed Blu's gaze, worried because Blu _never_ cursed, at least not that she was aware of. What she found was quite disconcerting… a black dragon with a sleek, angled body descending at a rapid pace toward them.

Before the two macaws had any time to do more than back up a few paces, the dragon slammed into the ground in a landing pose, its jaw working as it was trying to say something and its posture suggesting it was cautious of the two strange dragons before it.

The dragon – a _male_, Blu realized - slowly relaxed its posture, seeing the two strange dragons were being quite defensive towards him. He barked out a gentle question. "Who are you? I've never seen a dragon of your kind before…"

Blu and Jewel paused. Blu spoke up for the two of them. "We're not dragons. Where we come from, dragons are only myths and fairy tales. We're birds, specifically blue Spix's macaws."

The dragon hmm'ed in thought. "I don't know how you managed to get to what the humans call the English Isles, but your species isn't found outside of the territory Brazil, and in very small numbers. From what I've heard, only a few thousand of your species remain."

Jewel cast a downtrodden glance at the ground and shuffled her feet in sadness. Blu put a wing around her to comfort her, and spoke in a clouded voice. "Well, we're not from this world. We… managed to find our way to this world from our own. Can you tell us what year it is here? Because if what you said about the English Isles is true, this world may be an alternate version of our own set in the past."

The dragon cast a calculating glance toward the soil and flowers as he thought. A moment later: "If we're using the humans' timekeeping method, the year is ten thirty-five."

Blu's eyes widened in shock and Jewel's now shell-shocked gaze shot up to the dragon. She darted her head around to face Blu. "Does… does that mean… we're almost…"

"A thousand years in the past? Yeah, I think it does."

The dragon's extremely good hearing picked up on the bit of information Blu and Jewel probably didn't want it to hear. "Wait, a _thousand_? Are you from the future? Or some version of it?"

Blu resolutely nodded. "Yes, and it would also explain why you said there are still a few thousand of us in Brazil."

The dragon raised a curious eyebrow, about to ask a question, before it _froze_. _Wait a second… I don't think I like the direction this is taking…_ The dragon cast a forlorn look upon Blu and Jewel, and asked in a much softer tone, "Where you come from… how many of your kind are left…?"

Blu gulped and turned to Jewel. Tears had already started leaking from her eyes, but she nodded anyway. Whoever this dragon was, they seemed trustworthy, and they weren't on their own world anymore anyway, so they knew they wouldn't be hunted down for revealing the information. Once she did, Blu cast a _very_ pointed gaze to the dragon, making sure to hold eye contact, and used his wing to pull Jewel closer to him.

The dragon's eyes widened in horror. The implication was there; by the _gods_, was it there, and he hadn't missed it at all. "You're… you're the last of your kind?"

Blu nodded, wrapping his other arm around Jewel, who was now being forced to relive the tragedy of her flock's deaths. He leaned down and whispered comforting words into her ear, and she stopped shaking as much, though she was still in the throes of sadness and loss.

The dragon growled in anger. "Who was responsible?"

"Whoa, whoa there!" Blu could immediately sense the dragon's shift in attitude. "Please, she's already very broken up about this, let's not talk about it any longer. Maybe another time."

The dragon nodded its head, and flared its wings as it prepared to take off. "Alright. I'm sorry for your loss, both of you, and I wish I could continue talking with you – you seem like very nice people – but I have a tribe of dragons to look out for. And we're planning a raid tomorrow night as well. If you want to know more, follow me." The dragon quickly flew off into the air, not hesitating to leave Blu and Jewel behind in the slightest.

Blu and Jewel gave each other a sideways glance, and Blu threw his wings up in a _why not?_ gesture, and the two flew off after the black dragon.

* * *

A few minutes later, the three avians landed in a large alcove carved into the side of a steep mountain. The black dragon led Blu and Jewel through a passageway cut directly into the rock face, and the two's eyes widened when they nearly fell off a cliff and into the dragons' home. Blu's mind immediately flew into overdrive, trying to figure out how one could carve out the innards of an entire _mountain_ without _something_ in the structural department going colossally wrong.

The dragon turned to the two macaws, and, noticing Blu's blank stare and Jewel's uncertain, shocked expression, allowed an amused smile to cross his features. He extended his wings to full mast, using them to gesture to the place he called his home. "Welcome to the home of my dragon tribe. For many hundreds of years, this tribe has sought shelter from the humans who would hunt us down, whether for survival or sport, and I was brought here as a very young hatchling by my mother and father, whose faces I only vaguely remember, fifteen years ago. Here, we protect our own, and if someone from outside starts a fight with one of us, the entire tribe will take up arms to defend its safety, security, and honor."

The dragon flew down to the center, roaring loud enough to gather the attention of most of the others within their large mountain home, all of whom approached and bowed before the black dragon. _Hmm, this black dragon must be their chief, of sorts. For only fifteen years old, barely younger than me, he seems to have commandeered their respect quite thoroughly._

Once the black dragon beckoned the tribe to rise, he turned back to Blu and Jewel. "Now, you told me you come from another world, one set in the future. Can you explain what happens in that future?"

Jewel was about to hesitantly speak, after a full minute of silence, but Blu held his wing up to her beak, causing her to close it with a soft _click_. He turned and made a respectful gesture. "All due respect, sir, but we can't tell you the future."

The black dragon didn't seem to have been angry at the comment, likely mollified by the show of respect Blu had given him beforehand, but Blu didn't miss the tells of a facial expression that morphed into one of suspicion. "Please explain. If you come bearing any news that might hold a bearing over myself or my tribe, it will be invaluable."

"It's not that I don't want to, because believe me, _I do_, but there's a saying that wasn't invented until the 1700s, during a time when psychics, people who had a spiritual connection with the deity they worshipped strong enough that they could briefly see into the future, were in their heyday. The saying goes, 'If you tell of the occurrence of an event in the future, it will not occur.' If I tried to give you something specific, it could forever alter our-" Blu wrapped his wing around Jewel in a protective manner "-world's history and your world's future, in a way that could have drastic consequences for all parties involved, up to and possibly including the permanent end of both our civilizations. In our world in its current time, such an effect is called the Butterfly Effect."

The dragon's eyes crossed in its head as it thought as Jewel gazed into Blu's eyes in a gesture of mixed awe and confusion, something she'd found herself doing a lot of these days. After a minute of unerring silence, the dragon nodded. "Very well, if you believe telling of the future other than that there _is_ a future could have such cataclysmic consequences, I'll have no more talk of it. In the meanwhile, since you are not from this world, I'll make arrangements to set up a quarters for you and your lady. Come."

The dragon beckoned Blu and Jewel forward as he walked to an otherwise unoccupied area of the mountain dwelling, and flew up into a very large alcove. Once Blu and Jewel arrived on the face of the alcove with him, he gestured with one of his wings to the inside of the alcove. "This is one of the many sets of guest quarters for any dragon that might pass by. You can use them until a more permanent setup is arranged."

Blu and Jewel thanked the black dragon, before he flew off to rejoin the rest of his tribe, and the two macaws laid down on a single moss cushion fashioned from the vegetative growth on the livable fringe areas of the mountain's exterior.

"You know, for dragons, they aren't so bad." Jewel quietly said as she snuggled up to Blu's chest, cooing softly when he wrapped his wings around her as he got comfortable himself.

"Well, maybe it's because the myths back home always portrayed dragons as brutish, fearsome monsters that wouldn't hesitate to destroy everything in their path. By any standard we might have, these dragons are better." Blu let out a sigh as he found a good spot to rest, the moss hugging his body snugly, cocooning him in the same way he felt when he used to sleep on one of Linda's old memory foam pillows. "Now, why don't we head to bed? Today's been pretty eventful, and if I remember correctly, that dragon is planning on doing some kind of raid, and I want to see what's up with that."

Jewel silently nodded, craning her neck up just enough for her to gently kiss Blu, who wholeheartedly returned the kiss. After a moment, they broke apart, and Jewel went back to snuggling into Blu's protective embrace. "Good night, Blu."

"Night, Jewel."


	2. 2: The Dragon Raid

**Chapter 2: The Dragon Raid**

"Alright, you all know I'm not much for planning these kinds of things, not out of my own laziness, but because the Vikings are too stubborn to adapt in the face of danger. They could have developed things capable of maiming or outright killing me years ago, but instead they refuse to leave the perceived safety of their shield and sword, and only have basic defenses against our comprehensive arsenal. They only adapt as much as is necessary to survive, and no more. They're so set in their ways that it's very likely even the death of most of their tribe in a single night would change nothing.

"But we dragons aren't about that. I found each one of you, injured from a trapper or bleeding from a killer, and I brought you back here and nursed you back to health, because I care not for the endless bloodshed. Set in our own ways of destruction and dominance we may be, but I'm the last of my kind, and I believe there's a better way than all this needless fighting. Unfortunately, fighting is exactly what we will have to keep doing until someone comes along who has the bravery and selflessness needed to unite the various species of the world under a single banner.

"Now, the goal for tonight's raid is simple. The Assault Team is going to attack the various houses of the Vikings and divide the attention of their rapid-response team. The Cover Team, backed by two members of the Elite Team, which unfortunately will be staying here tonight, will be raiding the Vikings' coffers. As always, make sure you bring back as much food as you can carry so the tribe might live to see another summer. And this time, let's try not to kill any of the Vikings unless they get us in a real bind. I'll be patrolling the skies to make sure the Cover Team gets out safely, and I'll try my best to stop any attacks directed at either team. Now, let's fly!"

The group that had congregated together, the black dragon at its head, broke, the dragons prepping their wings for flight.

The dragon turned to Blu and Jewel, a touch of concern for the time-travelers in his eyes. "It's your decision on whether you'd like to join us. You're as large and nimble as some of the smaller dragons, so I have no doubt you'd fit in perfectly with the Assault Team," he spoke in a gentler tone.

A silent minute, and several gazes, passed between Blu and Jewel, before Blu nodded. "We'll help you, but we're not doing any fighting. We know what it's like having to fight for your right to continue living, and we don't want to see that happen to another species like it did to us. I'll go with the Assault Team to help prevent any unnecessary loss of life, and Jewel has some experience in martial arts, so she'll go with the Cover Team to deal with any Vikings that might show up in the area."

"Thank you. Alright, let's fly!" And with that, the hundreds of avians departed the innards of the mountain, destination: a small island county in the English Isles named Berk.

* * *

"Are yeh sure you've got the axe-head properly aligned? We can't use an axe that flies off its handle, Hiccup."

Hiccup, a fifteen-year-old boy who could be described as the very antithesis of what a Viking traditionally _was_, short stature, unassuming appearance, somewhat submissive demeanor, thin arms and legs and narrow shoulders, carefully worked an axe-head in a small blacksmith forge, pulling out the axe-head when the entire item glowed a light cherry-red, closer to yellow. He quickly took the head to the anvil, grabbed his personal hammer and started whacking away to get the proper alignment. "Gobber, I've got this. I've been making effective weapons for the tribe since I was twelve, I know what I'm doing." Under his breath, he sardonically muttered, "Seems to be the only thing I'm good at."

The senior smith, Gobber, a Viking with a rough mustache and beard, bald hair, very wide shoulders, thick, bulky arms and legs, and a wood-and-metal prosthetic hand and leg as the result of dragon attacks that he hadn't escaped from unscathed, stood and considered Hiccup's faux confidence for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. "And make sure yeh stay here with the forge! Someone will need their blade or axe sharpened, and I've got dragons to beat senseless!" Gobber grabbed a war-axe attachment for his prosthetic arm, and attached it, running out of the smithy as he bellowed out a battle-hardened war cry.

Hiccup sighed as he finished hammering the axe-head into place, setting the axe-head back into the forge for a minute to begin the heat-treat process. While he waited to pull the head out of the hot coals, he briefly thought about his own desires. _Why won't they let me just fight a dragon?! I know I could prove myself, if only they'd give me the chance. And maybe once I do, I can finally make a name for myself._

A short list of dragon species names popped up in his head as he pulled the axe-head out of the coals and submerged the high-carbon steel head into an oil quench, a small fire briefly appearing atop the oil pool before disappearing as the head cooled. _A Nadder head is sure to at least get me noticed._

He pulled out the axe-head and took it to his belt sander, an invention of his own design that used rapidly rotating gears on a pulley system to spin a belt with rough particles on it to strip excess metal off a blade or head much faster, cleaner, and easier than any smith could do by hand. _Gronkles are tough. Taking down one of those would _definitely_ get me a girlfriend._

As he finished sanding down the metal into the smooth blade that an axe-head needed to have to be most effective, he used the manual brake to arrest the circular motion of the sander. He accidentally nicked himself with the edge of the sander as he took the head to the cutting table to begin attaching it to the axe handle. "Damn, add one more to the list." _A Zippleback? Exotic. Two heads, twice the status._

He quickly grabbed a bandage roll, dunking his hand in one of the spare cooling vats Gobber left lying around in case of this exact situation. He pulled it out, then skillfully wrapped the bandage around his hand until it was tight enough to hold securely without cutting off blood flow to his hand. He tore off the edge of the bandage he used with his teeth, setting the roll back down and tying off the makeshift tourniquet. _And then, there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire._

He picked up the wooden handle he'd set aside, engravings of the Viking clan crest and intricate etchings of Thor and Freyja, the gods of thunder and fertility respectively, carved into the edges of its surface. Grabbing the fittings he'd made for this axe, he began using his assortment of small tools and his trusty hammer to attach them securely to the axe-head, and vice versa. _But the ultimate prize is a dragon no one has ever seen. This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and never misses. No one has_ ever_ killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first._

The final main project he'd had before this new raid began completed, he set the battleaxe onto the finish table for final polishing at a later time, and grabbed his leather forge overcoat, running out the back entrance of the smithy, his newest contraption – a bola launcher that would allow him to sling bolas with the best of them – in tow, amid various sounds of protest from the other Vikings as he passed them by. He called out a half-hearted reassurance as he continued running for one of the livestock hills.

Once he arrived, he set up his bola launcher as quickly as he could, arming the launching mechanism with a prime bola as he looked through a magnifying scope to try spotting any evidence of a Night Fury in the slowly brightening sky. "Come on… give me something to shoot at… give me something to shoot at…"

A moment later, his patience was rewarded as he glimpsed the silhouette that the Vikings had learned to associate with a Night Fury's presence, and right as it shot a deadly bolt of energy from its mouth, Hiccup trained the scope on his new target and _fired_.

To his utter astonishment, the contraption worked; the Night Fury had been struck, and with a shrill cry, its shadow was seen descending into the forest north of Raven's Point about a mile and a half west of him. "Oh! I hit it! YES! I _hit it!_ Did anybody see that?!"

Karma was a right bitch, and Hiccup suffered its full brunt, groaning in disappointment and a healthy dose of fear, as one of the Monstrous Nightmares landed right in front of him, crushing the launcher he'd poured hours of his blood, sweat, and tears into like it was made of paper mache. "Except for _you_," he blandly muttered.

Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk and Hiccup's gigantic father, stormed onto the scene, landing a _very_ heavy blow to the Nightmare's snout and driving it off, as one of the torches that had been hauled into the sky earlier in the battle, hit by the Nightmare's lethal fire, collapsed to the ground. He watched in contempt as the dragons fled from Berk's shore, before turning around and grabbing Hiccup's coat collar and dragging him toward the mead hall, ignoring his son's protests and the five water holders' crude comments.

* * *

Jewel's head snapped up, having just put down a Viking who'd thought it a good idea to attack her on her terms, and she noticed from the corner of her eye as the black dragon was hit by a weird contraption and sailed down to a forest a couple miles away.

Nearby, Blu noticed the same, and he flew over to Jewel as the other dragons started fleeing the Viking village, which they'd heard called Berk. "Did you see what I just saw?"

"Yeah, that dragon that's been nothing but kind and generous to us since our arrival here just got shot down. Aren't we in the eleventh century? Humans shouldn't have technology that advanced yet, right?"

"Don't know, I'm only vaguely familiar with the earlier ages beyond the major historical events. Let's go see if he's alright." Blu and Jewel flew off, rising high into the sky to prevent from being seen by the Vikings as they headed toward the direction they'd seen their new friend go down in.


	3. 3: Hiccup's Folly

**Chapter 3: Hiccup's Folly**

In the forest past what was known as Raven's Point, Blu and Jewel landed, using their keen sight to hunt down any traces of the black dragon they could confidently call their first friend in this world. While being in mostly dark was annoying, they had good vision, a fact that was only helped by the slowly rising sun on the horizon.

Blu looked around for a few minutes, before spotting a swath of wanton destruction about half a mile from their location. He directed Jewel to look at the damage, and the two quickly flew off in that direction.

A short minute later, the two macaws landed in front of a gruesome sight: their new friend was entangled in what Blu identified as a primitive version of bowcaster ammunition, what he remembered as a bola, his tail hopelessly entangled and bleeding heavily from one side. Blu instantly darted to the dragon's side and tried to undo the bola's grip, only for his friend to nearly scream in pain. "Hey, what happened to you?"

"I… was trying to keep a watchful eye, when this _twig_ of a boy probably no older than I am… rolled a weird contraption up a hill with some kind of attached sight-glass… used the thing to fire a bola right at me… I was too caught up in the raid itself and my own musings to get myself out of the way in time… and it seems the price of that arrogance and deviant mind was high."

Blu and Jewel's eyes widened and jaws dropped in equal parts shared sympathy and horror. Whether by choice or circumstance, both of the Spix's macaws had been previously where their dragon friend was now, and both knew how vulnerable any bird that had lost its flight was. The ostriches kept popping up one place or another back home to prove _that_ point.

"Damn, we need to get you out of sight. You more than likely can't fly with your tail as damaged as it is, and we might even need to amputate the right side to prevent infections and drastic loss of blood, both of which would kill you."

"As much as I appreciate it… I can't move my tail at all or risk even more damage. Besides, I can tell you're very light birds. I weigh at least several large bags of coin, and I doubt you'd be able to move me."

Jewel adopted a look of distress, worried someone would come for him and try to maim, or worse, _kill_ him. "Isn't there anything we can do? Besides, Blu, we don't have any medical… thing? How can we help him?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I know not about dragons where you hail from, but here in this world, we dragons, if given enough energy as food, can shed certain parts of our bodies and seal the wounds to prevent scarring and death, tails included. Unfortunately, because of this advantage… when I do, I will never fly again."

Blu and Jewel's hearts sank into their stomachs. Their new friend not only knew what was going to happen to him if something wasn't done quickly, he was willing to sacrifice his ability to _fly_, a unique ability all avians cherished above _everything else_ and held onto for dear life, in order to survive, only to potentially fight a losing battle where the odds of victory were about as sure as they were that more of their species existed. More importantly, this couldn't have been his actual feelings about the matter; he was probably screaming inside, in a mixture of equal parts unbridled fury and self-loathing.

The dragon was able to quickly and easily read Blu and Jewel's crestfallen expressions, and slowly sighed. "Look, I may not be able to fly, but I can still _fight_. I don't know what I will do as a grounded dragon, but I will find a way to survive. And if those Vikings think they can take a dragon of my caliber down so easily, they're in for a rude awakening." He stole a sidelong glance at his tangled body. "Although I will need your help to get out of this." He shed the damaged side of his tail, divesting himself of his full ability to fly, and turned to tell Blu and Jewel to help cut him out of the bola with their sharp beaks, but a rustle in the bushes atop a nearby cliff caused the three avians to stop dead in their tracks.

"Run! I might be able to fight, but you two have told me you don't _want_ to! But if you stay, you'll end up dead!" Blu and Jewel didn't hesitate to bolt for the safety of the nearest canopy treetop. They were worried for their friend, but they'd learned to let sleeping beasts lie, and if he said he could handle himself, they would let him do it, and prove himself right by his actions.

* * *

"Oh, the gods _hate_ me," Hiccup muttered indignantly as he jumped over another old, felled log from the days where the Berkians had had time to salvage wood before the dragon attacks became as constant as they had been in recent seasons. "Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an _entire dragon?!_"

He angrily swatted away a branch as he passed in front of him, only for the branch to viciously snap back at him, cutting a shallow gash across his right eyebrow and causing him to hiss in pain, holding his hand to the wound. "Ow!"

He turned an offended glare to the branch, only to discover in a fit of surprise intense enough to make him step back in shock, that a swath of destruction had been cut into the land, toppling trees, overturning soil, and cracking the stone around it indiscriminately.

Following the path, he found the Night Fury he'd shot down struggling to break out of the bola. His eyes widened in shock and excitement as he quickly descended the cliff that separated him and the dragon, doing his best to ruthlessly squash the tinge of fear that made itself known.

He stopped a few feet in front of the Night Fury, practically shaking in excitement. "Oh wow… I _did it_. Oh, I did it! This fixes everything! Yes! I have brought down this mighty beast!" He subconsciously refused to acknowledge the pacifist part of him that wanted to heave the contents of his stomach at the sight of the injured dragon that was _his_ cause.

He tried stepping on the Night Fury's head, but it woke up and shoved him off with a shake of its head. Cat-like eyes stared him dead in the face. Hiccup _froze_, unsure of what to think, but tried to recover some semblance of courage, pulling his knife out as he prepared to deal a killing blow.

"I'm going to kill you, dragon…" Hiccup tried to steel his nerves and growing revulsion and only marginally succeeded. The Night Fury seemed to have recognized the threat Hiccup currently posed, and did its best to plead with its eyes to spare it. "I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father… I'm a Viking. I am a _Viking_!"

He went to raise the blade, but hesitated upon finally noticing the Night Fury's sad, desperate gaze locked right on him, and that pleading gaze was enough to break him out of his desperation-spawned delusions of grandeur, and he numbly dropped his knife, turning around and retching in between a few rocks nearby.

He turned a forlorn, shattered gaze back to the Night Fury, who had laid its head down as if accepting its fate. "_I did this_," he whispered in disgust and horror.

A new decision quickly being made, Hiccup grabbed his knife back up and went to cut the ropes of the bola holding the Night Fury captive. Its eyes shot open in shock as it observed Hiccup cut the lines, and once the final one was untethered, it lunged at Hiccup, pinning him against the cliff face nearby a boulder.

His instinctual desire to kill rose up with a vengeance, but he ruthlessly suppressed the desire, overwhelmed by the sheer confusion at why this human, this _Viking_ had _freed_ him instead of killing him like he'd said he would. Instead, he leaned close and _roared_ into the boy's face, before rapidly prancing to the other side of this half of the area below the cliff.

Hiccup, his ears ringing, numbly picked up his knife after the Night Fury bounded away, managing to walk four steps before moaning in shock and sudden exhaustion, collapsing unceremoniously onto the ground, where he stayed for several hours.

* * *

Blu and Jewel darted out of their hiding place and to the dragon, now identified as Night Fury – whatever _that_ meant – as the teenage boy collapsed on the ground. They had been worried when their friend had screamed, "_Why?!_"

"Hey, what's wrong?! Are you alright?" He asked as they landed.

"No, I am _not_ alright!" The dragon growled as it laid down on the ground, hiding its face from Blu and Jewel. "Why? _Why_ did that boy spare me?! He _said_ he was going to kill me! He probably had good reason to as well! So… so _why…?_" He had started the sentence screaming, but as his emotions crumbled into an indistinguishable mess inside of him, his volume died down to a hoarse, emotionally-charged whisper.

Blu and Jewel shared an especially meaningful glance, remembering their own differences over how humans had caused their lives to change and how it had brought them together. The two laid down next to Night Fury, placing their wings over him to comfort him as he shed tears, unable to reconcile this compassionate _twig_ of a boy with the entirety of the Viking tribe, ruthless, stubborn brutes that they were.

* * *

Hiccup groaned as he was hit with a splash of nearly frozen water, unable to remember where he was or what he had been doing thanks to REM sleep being viciously interrupted. He gingerly pulled himself up next to the small boulder beside him, finally registering the presence of a dr- … his mind slowly ground to a halt. Whatever this blue _giant_ was in front of him, it certainly didn't have the stature or scales of a dragon.

He gulped as he stared into the creature's surprisingly intelligent eyes. "What… what are you?" he whispered.

He didn't expect to get a response at all, just some noise from the creature, but he barely managed to keep from passing out of shock a second time when the creature _spoke_ to him in perfect English. "My name is Blu, and I'm what's known as a Spix's macaw, a rare species of bird and one of the last of my kind, just like my new friend over there," the creature, who had supplied the name Blu, gestured with an elegant and muscled wing to the Night Fury he'd brought down and subsequently cut free, the dragon giving him an auspicious, sideways glance with one slitted eye.

"You… you can _talk?!_" Hiccup managed to get out in a shocked whisper, and Blu flinched back in shock.

"Wait… you can _understand_ me?!" Blu got out in a hurried breath. This didn't make any sense! Big Bro had been the one who could speak to humans, not him! Unless…

Hiccup, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, picked himself up, walked to the pond in the center of the cove they were in, and splashed his face with some of the nearly-frozen spring water. Now slowly developing frostbite on his ears, he was sufficiently satisfied that no, this was _not_ a dream.

"So… where exactly did you come from?" Hiccup reluctantly asked, and Blu looked back to Jewel, who'd stayed next to the Night Fury that Blu had said was their new friend. Jewel shrugged, basically leaving the decision up to Blu, and he turned back, thinking for a long moment.

He cleared his throat as he turned his attention back to the boy in front of him. "Based on your reactions to both Night Fury and my ability to bypass the inter-species language barrier, I don't believe you're mentally prepared to handle that information. Maybe at a later time, but for now, it's best to wait."

Hiccup nodded half-heartedly, not knowing what he was expecting. He turned back to the Night Fury, who was now resting his head as the other bird slowly ran its wing over the dragon's sleek body for some reason he couldn't figure out. "So… Who's the other bird that looks like you, Blu?"

Blu's smile could have been warm enough to melt ice. "That's Jewel, my girlfriend. She's the most important person I have. Helped me overcome an inability to fly I've had almost my whole life. Come on, I'll introduce you." Blu waved a wing over in Jewel's direction as he approached, Hiccup on his tail.

Jewel gave Blu a smile as he walked up, the human following behind him. "Seems our friend has already finished shedding the damaged part of his tail, though thanks to you showing me how to look at how dragons fly, I don't think he'll be able to fly again, at least not without extreme difficulty."

Blu sadly nodded, looking at the now unbalanced tail. "That really sucks. Can't say I don't know how it feels, I couldn't even fly until a few weeks ago, so to see this happen hits that much closer to home."

Hiccup looked down, ashamed. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry. I got caught up in musings of glory and fame… I shouldn't have done this…"

Blu nodded solemnly. "At least you're trying to make amends. It shows you have a heart and the willingness to do what needs to be done. You're a good man, though it seems you might have been guided down the wrong path. "

Hiccup turned away. "How do you even know that?"

"Trust me, I've seen some of the worst humanity has to offer. I almost lost my life to a particularly vicious human and his malicious cockatoo companion who were trying to smuggle Jewel and sell her away for profit. But I was also raised by one of the kindest, most compassionate humans that I've ever met, and I had the chance to research as much about the world as I could handle. So let's just chalk it up to I've been there before."

Hiccup sighed and nodded, before noticing the time. "Oh, crap! I have to get back to the village or Dad is going to kill me!" He climbed as quickly up the cliff face as he could, through a narrow passageway that he'd found. Before leaving, he turned back to the cove where the three avians laid down. "Nice meeting you two!"

Blu chuckled as the boy ran off to his village, wrapping his wing around Jewel as they laid down next to Night Fury. "Well, today's been pretty eventful too, huh?"

Jewel laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. It's already starting to feel just like when you showed up in Rio."

"Other than the me not flying part, that was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

Jewel laughed, before giving Blu a chaste kiss. "True, but we've fixes that problem now." She turned to Night Fury. "So, what are you going to do?"

He sighed, opening a slitted eye to stare at the two of them. "Honestly… I don't know. I'm still trying to come to terms with why I spared him when, by all rights, I should have killed him. He's taken the glorious gift of flight away from me, but for some reason… I can't find it in me to be mad at him."

Jewel nodded, laying her head across Blu's chest. "Well, we should probably get some sleep." She turned a mischievous gaze to Blu. "Not still running on Rio time, are you, sweetie?"

Blu gave her a mock glare, half-heartedly hitting her side with his wing. "Oh ha ha, very funny, Jewel."


	4. 4: A Growing Bond

**Wasn't sure if this needed mentioning, but side note, the events of the **_**Dragons: Riders of Berk, Dragons: Defenders of Berk, **_**and **_**Dragons: Race to the Edge**_** TV series will not be covered in this story. I literally forgot that these **_**existed**_** until last week, and I have no intention of making you guys wait several consecutive weeks, or heaven forbid **_**months,**_** for an update while I catch up with something I'm not even particularly interested in. Maybe if I ever do a retelling of this story ten or fifteen years down the road, I'll consider it, but right now, it ain't happening, no ifs, ands, or buts.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Growing Bond**

Hiccup sighed, remembering Gobber's words to him earlier the next day. _"Remember, a dragon will always – _always –_ go for the kill._"

He turned in the direction of the cove he'd left the Night Fury, Blu and Jewel yesterday evening, wondering about his interaction with the Night Fury after cutting it loose from his bola. Holding the remnants of the rope in his hand, he sighed. "So why didn't you?"

He dropped the remnants of the bola and pulled out his idea-sketching book, ducking behind a tree as the Night Fury swooped past, crashing into the rock face of the small cliff as it tried to fly, only to crash back into the ground with little grace. Observing it, he quickly made a sketch of its overall appearance, but stopped at its tail. He looked back up and noticed that, as Blu had mentioned the previous day, the Night Fury's left tail fin was missing.

As he tried to think of a way to sketch what would have been the other side, he accidentally dropped his pencil, and _froze_ in place when the Night Fury's keen ears picked up on the sound of the pencil as it dropped, and turned to stare solidly at Hiccup.

Neither moved for a few seconds, the two staring into each other's eyes and trying to understand why the other wasn't doing anything, before Hiccup sighed and turned around, walking back through the forest to the village.

* * *

"Alright, where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" Gobber pointedly asked, casting a meaningful glance at each of the six teenagers sitting at the table in front of him.

Astrid sighed. "I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."

Ignoring Ruffnut and Snotlout's resulting comments, Gobber nodded. "She's right, you _have_ to be tough on yourselves." He looked down to Hiccup, who, by his facial expression, would rather be anywhere else. "Now where did Hiccup go wrong?"

"Uh… he showed up?" "He didn't get eaten?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut both replied at practically the same time, and Gobber sighed in exasperation.

"He's never where he should be," Astrid confidently put in her own two cents.

"Thank you, Astrid," Gobber said, nodding to the younger Viking. "You need to live and breathe this stuff." He grabbed a book from a nearby table and tossed the heavy item onto theirs, the book landing with a dull _thud_. "The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know _of_." A bolt of lightning cut through the air outside, and the echoing clap of thunder came shortly after. "No attacks tonight. Study up."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut immediately started walking for the door, and Snotlout shortly followed. "Wait, you mean _read_?" "While we're still alive?"

Snotlout snorted, palming his fist with his other hand. "Why read words when you can just _kill_ the stuff the words tell you stuff about?"

Fishlegs quickly got out of his spot at the table, following behind as Hiccup and Astrid glanced at them sideways. "Oh! I've read it, like, _seven times_. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And-and there's this other one that buries itself for, like, a week…"

The four kept throwing half-thought responses to Fishlegs' commentary, and the door shut. Astrid quickly got up to make herself scarce as well.

"So I guess we'll share?"

Astrid practically scoffed, not bothering to look back. "Read it."

"All mine then… Wow, okay… So, I'll see you, uh…" Astrid didn't give Hiccup the chance to finish his sentence as she walked out of the now-empty mead hall, slamming the door behind her. "…tomorrow."

He turned back to the book, reading the pages until he came to the last marked one, the chronicle of the Night Furies. "Night Fury. Speed unknown, size unknown." He briefly looked at his own journal, specifically the sketches he'd made about the Night Fury, before turning back to continue reading. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. _Never_ engage this dragon. Your only chance: hide, and pray it does not _find you_," he read, unconsciously stressing the last two words of the page the same way they were visibly stressed on the page.

* * *

Hiccup barely managed to dodge a Nadder's firebolt, turning to briefly face Gobber, who stood atop the arena, and safely behind the chain and metal netting. "You know, I happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"

Gobber sighed in exasperation when Hiccup's shield was torn right out of his hands by another of the Nadder's firebolts due to lack of attention. "Focus, Hiccup! You're not even trying!"

Later, he was tackled to the ground by Astrid as she dodged one of the Nadder's firebolts. She was understandably angry at Hiccup for being too cowardly to fight the dragon.

After she landed a decisive blow that stunned the Nadder enough for Gobber to secure it back in its cage, she turned an angry glare to Hiccup. "Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become _ours._ Figure out which side you're on." She stormed away, leaving Hiccup behind as the others gave him disapproving looks.

* * *

Hiccup approached the Night Fury in the cove, having foregone his shield after it got stuck in the crevice of the rock face he'd used to get down. Blu and Jewel were silently perched atop a thick tree nearby, carefully observing Hiccup's motions and how this new interaction would happen. Jewel leaned over to Blu. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"Right now, I think he's going to give that fish to Night Fury. Not sure it's a good idea, but it's better than anything I've come up with at the moment," Blu shortly replied, keeping his gaze trained on the teenage boy and black dragon.

Hiccup slowly approached the cove, trying to find the Night Fury as he walked into the cove, approaching one of the rocks as he searched for the Night Fury.

The Night Fury came out of the rock a few feet in front of him, eyeing the fish with clear hunger in his eyes, but stopped upon noticing the human carried a knife in his side pouch… specifically the one he'd nearly tried to use to kill him two days ago. He growled.

Hiccup took a second, but got the message, carefully removing the knife from his belt and tossing it on the ground. The Night Fury still growled, and Hiccup carefully balanced the knife on his boot before kicking it into the lake.

Once the knife was well out of its range, the Night Fury suddenly became a little playful, pouncing up to Hiccup and reaching for the fish with his mouth. Hiccup's eyes shot open in surprise. "Huh. Toothless? I could have sworn you had…"

Suddenly, behind the gum lining at the edge of the inside of the Night Fury's mouth, two rows of _extremely_ sharp teeth appeared, and he gobbled up the fish in one massive bite. Hiccup stared in shock. "…teeth."

Hiccup started backing up, stumbling and ending up back-first against the rock, as the Night Fury approached him eagerly. "Uh… uh, no, no, no, I-I don't have any more."

To his surprise and disgust, and Blu and Jewel's amused laughter, the Night Fury regurgitated half of the fish, and gave it to Hiccup, guiding him through taking a very tentative and _blech_ bite of the fish. Blu and Jewel stopped laughing and started making cute faces, privately teasing Hiccup as the Night Fury tried to imitate a smile.

Hiccup, realizing that the Night Fury was trying to attempt to make friends, slowly reached his hand out to touch him, but the Night Fury's eyes dilated and he jumped back, snarling and making a poor attempt to fly, crash-landing on the other side of the small lake. He used his fire breath to ignite an area of sand under him and laid down, going to sleep.

Hiccup sighed, opening his book, but not before noticing the Night Fury get up from his new spot and move to a very solid, large tree, hanging off the end by his tail and going to sleep.

Later, when the Night Fury woke up, he noticed Hiccup drawing a picture, an imitation of what looked like _him_, in the sand. He became very curious, and went to use his mouth and claws to rip a branch off a tree. Holding the branch in his mouth, he tried and failed to make a drawing of his own, Hiccup as the subject. Blu and Jewel could understand where he was coming from, but both knew that the failed attempt wouldn't really get through to Hiccup.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed in curiosity as he watched the Night Fury draw in the sand using the massive branch. Once he was done, he tossed the branch aside and stood cutely on two legs, smiling at Hiccup, gesturing him to look. Hiccup slowly stood up and walked to the Night Fury through the drawing, eliciting a growl from him as he accidentally stood on one of the lines. He tested whether this was a bad thing by stepping on the same line twice more, producing more aggressive reactions each time.

Danger now observed, Hiccup carefully lifted his foot and stepped _over_ the line into the smooth sand on the other side, and the Night Fury backed down, adopting a much happier and more encouraging look.

Over the next minute or so, Hiccup stepped his way through the various lines and made it back to the Night Fury, who had gotten back on all fours, staring intently at Hiccup. Hiccup, seized by a fit of courage, slowly extended his hand out to the Night fury, but it shrank back. Twice more he did this, but twice more the Night Fury shrank back.

Blu and Jewel's eyes widened in shock as Hiccup then fully extended his arm out, casting his head down and to the side and closing his eyes tightly. Blu shook off the shock first. "Holy crap, to make such a gesture in front of one of the most dangerous predators alive? That boy is either incredibly brave…"

"…or incredibly stupid," Jewel finished Blu's sentence, and the two gave each other a meaningful look. Blu chuckled and Jewel smiled as they turned back to the exchange.

_Well, I did my best, but it looks like I'm about to die,_ Hiccup thought cynically. He was surprised to feel something warm touch his hand, and it not being ripped off. He turned his head back slowly and cautiously opened his eyes to find the Night Fury resting its snout against his hand. His eyes widened, first in shock, then joy.

It was good while it lasted, but soon, the Night Fury removed himself from the contact and jumped away.

Blu and Jewel snickered. "Well, looks like things just got a whole lot more interesting, huh, Blu?" Jewel asked.

Blu nodded, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Oh yeah, they _definitely_ did."

After Hiccup left for the day, the two macaws descended to the ground, greeting the Night Fury as he munched on one of the fish he could find in the lake. "I notice you haven't eaten in a bit. Would you like some?" He offered a few fish from the pile he'd built up.

Blu and Jewel's stomachs grumbled, and they chuckled, averting their gazes in embarrassment. "I take that as a yes. In that case, eat up."

The two nodded and started eating their first fish. The Night Fury hmm'ed in thought. "That human… he's definitely different from every other one of his kind I've met. I heard a rumor as a hatchling there was another like him in the past, but that she was killed."

"He's certainly different, isn't he?" Blu asked as he started on his second fish.

The Night Fury nodded. "I don't know why, but despite what he's done, I feel like I can trust him. I can't explain it, but he feels like closer kin than others of my own kind would be."

Jewel hmm'ed in thought herself as she polished off her second fish. "Well, if you think about it, you're both in some way isolated from the others of your kind. In terms of the three of us, we're all the last of our kind, and in his case, he's the only one of his entire tribe who seems to deviate from the norm. While other Vikings wouldn't hesitate a second to spill blood and crack skulls for fame and glory, he seems to truly appreciate the gift of life, and doesn't use his knowledge to cause needless violence."

Blu nodded alongside her, having had the exact same thought.

The Night Fury gulped down his last fish in a single bite, belching loudly, then laid down its head in thought. After a moment, he looked back at Blu and Jewel, who had both finished their last fish and were now cuddling in the sand. "You know, Toothless sounds like a… unique name."

Blu and Jewel's heads snapped to the Night Fury. "From what I read of the old legends, dragons only identified others by their relation, and didn't use names."

The Night Fury nodded. "That is true, I suppose. Identifying others by name in a species where the bonds of kinship and family are of paramount importance seems like an alien concept to me, but I feel like I can trust the boy… I believe his name was Hiccup…so I will let him use that name to address me. Besides, put some thought to it: it would make sense that the human race would need some other way of identification. Not only are they the apex race because of their vast intelligence, they far, _far_ outnumber our own species." The Night Fury chuckled. "Besides, I'm sure he would be averse to constantly calling me 'Night Fury', right?"

The two macaws nodded. "Yeah, that certainly does make sense. In that case, would you like us to use the name too? Back in the future, everyone of every species has a name, so we're used to addressing others by name."

The Night Fury thought for a moment, then nodded. "It should be easier that way, and so we're not all confused." He looked to the rapidly darkening sky. "Well, I think it's prudent we get some rest. I get the feeling tomorrow is going to be quite the day."

Blu and Jewel nodded half-heartedly. They were already quickly falling asleep as well. "Alright then. Good night, Toothless."

Toothless grinned. _You know, that does have a nice ring to it._ "Good night, Blu, Jewel."

* * *

**I wanted to give a feeling of **_**impact**_** to the scene where Toothless's name is spoken for the first time, as opposed to Hiccup just pointing something out, and then using that observation as the name from then on. Don't get me wrong, that scene in the movie is very beautiful, but this is fanfiction, so me taking a liberty here or there should have already been expected.**


	5. 5: Triumph of the New Generation

**Took a bit to get this chapter started because I had to briefly deal with an issue that I thought bricked my computer, as well as suddenly having the urge to do an analysis on Goku's power through to **_**Broly**_** that took two days, but we're back.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Triumph of the New Generation**

"_It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A _downed_ dragon is a _dead_ dragon,_" _Gobber told the group, only briefly noticing Hiccup get up and leave as he finished his tale and advice to the young group of future dragon fighters, before excusing himself to head to bed, leaving Ruffnut and Tuffnut to bicker amongst themselves over who'd get the honor and glory of their first dragon kill._

Hiccup had worked tirelessly late last night after hearing Gobber's advice, working as much as he could in the forge to _build_ Toothless a new tail fin. Some people would have said the very notion of _helping_ a dragon, let alone trying to nullify an injury that would otherwise _cripple_ the beast, was crazy and suicidal and would have likely had him thrown in the old, abandoned dungeon below the mead hall, but Hiccup had finally realized that he wasn't a Viking in the same sense that others like Astrid or Snotlout were. He had many of the stubborn and fame-seeking traits in some way, but the key difference was he channeled none of them toward fighting and killing like the rest of his tribe did.

Now, he hauled Toothless' new prosthetic tailfin along with a large bucket filled almost to overflowing with fish. The plan: to use the fish as bait to distract Toothless while he applied the tailfin.

Blu and Jewel turned their heads sideways as they observed Hiccup enter the cove, a massive bag of fish slung over his shoulder and some kind of metal and leather contraption in the crook of his other arm. "I wonder what that is. Looks pretty sophisticated."

Jewel wordlessly nodded, having nothing to add to Blu's observation.

Hiccup put the basket gently down on the ground, whistling to get Toothless' attention. "Hey, Toothless. I brought breakfast, I hope you're hungry." He dumped the fish on the ground, and nearly retched on the scent alone. "Okay, that's disgusting." He used his hands to… _fish_ through the pile of seafood. "Uh… we've got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel."

Toothless recoiled upon sight of the eel, roaring in dismay as he glared at it. Hiccup thoroughly received the message. "No, no, no, no! It's okay!" He threw the eel as far behind him as he could in an effort to placate Toothless. "Yeah, I don't really like eel much either."

Toothless hesitantly approached until he was in front of the fish and began quickly gobbling them up. Hiccup quickly rounded to Toothless' tail, making sure Toothless was still occupied by the fish meal. "Okay, that's it, that's it, just stick with good stuff. And don't you mind me, I'll just be back here… minding my own business."

Toothless, however, wasn't making this part easy. He kept shifting around, his tail especially, and Blu and Jewel chuckled at Hiccup's continued efforts to attach the device to Toothless' tail. "It's okay. Okay… okay… there!" Hiccup finally managed to finish attaching the tailfin to Toothless' tail, and Toothless stopped rifling through the basket and pointed his head straight forward, feeling something _weird_, yet not wholly unpleasant, on his tail.

Hiccup opened and closed the tailfin, observing its range of motion while putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm… That's not too bad, it works."

Toothless let out a choked hiss of air as he took his head out of the basket, then _jumped _into the air, thinking he might be able to fly again, _somehow_.

Hiccup let out a choked scream upon suddenly finding himself not on the ground, turning his head quickly to Toothless as he tried flying and noticing the two were about to hit the cliff wall of the cove. "Whoa, no, no, _no_!" Hiccup quickly pulled the contraption out in a desperate attempt to save himself and Toothless from a _very_ painful week.

To his joyous astonishment, the fin _worked_, and Toothless managed to steer away from the wall, saving himself and Hiccup a buttload of pain. "Oh my- _It's working!_ YES! _YES, I DID IT!_"

Blu's jaw dropped in total shock. Jewel, unaware of the significance of the accomplishment, turned to him to find this. "Blu, why are you gaping?"

"But- G- T-_how?!_" Blu managed to recover a _semblance_ of his composure. "Prosthetics for most animals don't even _exist_ in our world, and yet he made one for a _dragon?!_"

Jewel's own eyes widened in shock, now understanding the significance of the achievement.

Toothless whipped his head back to find Hiccup on his tail, and jerked his tail in the direction of the lake, flinging Hiccup off. Hiccup roughly bounced across a couple times before falling completely in. A second later, uncaring of the chilly water, Hiccup shot out of the water, holding his arms in the air. "_YEAH!_"

* * *

"Today is about teamwork! Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is _extra_ tricky. One head _breathes_ fire, the other head _lights_ it. Your job is to know which is which," Gobber stated as he stood near the wooden and metal palisade which the teenage group, Hiccup included, held water buckets, trying to outmaneuver said Zippleback, who glared at them as it moved around their attempts.

Fishlegs, of course, was already in full RPG mode. "Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack by crushing its victims-"

Hiccup groaned as he was forced to Fishlegs' inane muttering. "Will you _please_ stop that?!" A second later, he had to stop moving to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up his breakfast at the image that Fishlegs' ramblings had given him.

Snotlout moved past Hiccup, trying to find the Zippleback through the flammable gas one of its heads had just released. "If that dragon shows _either_ of his faces, I'm gonna- _there!_" Snotlout, along with the nearby Tuffnut, threw the water from the bucket at the two presumed heads.

A moment later, the fog slightly cleared, revealing Astrid and Ruffnut's agitated expressions. "Hey, it's us, idiots!"

Tuffnut huffed. "Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon."

"Not that there's anything wrong with having a dragon-esque figure- OW!" Snotlout was brought violently out of his worship-rambling by Astrid's fist harshly meeting his face.

A moment later, though, the two had to get serious when, after Tuffnut had been hit with a bucket courtesy of Ruffnut, he was pulled unceremoniously into the smoke. "Wait." Astrid was on guard, but it didn't save her, or Snotlout nor Ruffnut, as the Zippleback's tail swept their feet out from under them.

A moment later, Tuffnut ran out of the mist, screaming his head off. "Oh, I'm _hurt!_ I am VERY MUCH _HURT!_"

Hiccup gave an exasperated sigh as Fishlegs commented in RPG mode a second time. "Chances are dwindling into single-digits now." Fishlegs threw his water bucket at the Zippleback's head as it showed itself, but the head let out the green flammable gas, and Fishlegs silently cursed under his breath. "Oh. Wrong head."

Fishlegs immediately turned around and ran, screaming as he passed Hiccup, who, with the others mostly knocked out of the fight, was now the Zippleback's target. Both heads revealed themselves to him angrily, sparks coming out of the mouth of the second head. Gobber was now _very_ worried. "Fishlegs!" He saw Hiccup being stalked upon by the Zippleback. _I can't believe I'm about to say this, but…_ "_Now, Hiccup!_"

Hiccup tried throwing the bucket at the spark-spraying head, but missed. "Oh, _come on!_" Suddenly, he had an _idea_. If this Zippleback reacted to the eel he'd brought with him the same way Toothless had…

Both of the Zippleback's head shot forward, intent on dealing a killing blow. "Hiccup!" Gobber screamed.

Right at the moment he was about to be bitten, though… "Back! _Back!_ Back… BACK!" Hiccup cautiously walked out of the Zippleback's flammable gas, holding the eel he'd hidden in his tunic in his other hand.

As he found the tactic to be working almost _flawlessly_, he became more confident, entirely forgetting about the others in the heat of the moment. He strode forward with purpose, holding the eel out in front of him as he slowly backed the Zippleback into a wall next to its cage. "Now, don't you make me tell you again!"

The Zippleback moved cautiously back into the cage, crossing the threshold as Hiccup thrust out the eel a third time. "Yes, that's right! Back into your cage."

As Hiccup crossed the threshold for the cage, he tossed the eel onto the ground in front of the Zippleback, causing it to push itself into the stone corner as best it could to keep away from the eel. He backed away, ending up outside of the cage as the Zippleback looked at him in trepidation. "Now think about what you've done." He grabbed the sides of the cage's door and closed them, latching down the massive wooden beam that kept the door closed.

He turned around, only to remember other people were here, too. Gobber and Astrid's jaws hung open, the Twins looked anywhere _but_ him, Snotlout stood stiff with eyes comically wide, and Fishlegs dropped his bucket, the remaining water spilling out onto the arena floor.

Hiccup nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay! So, are we done? Because I've got some things I need to… uh… Yep." He slowly backed away toward the palisade, opening it with the large lever on the side. I'll… see-see you tomorrow!"

* * *

The next day, Hiccup entered the cove again, a fully-crafted saddle prototype in his arms. He looked around for Toothless, and found him sitting in front of him suddenly. Hiccup managed to keep himself narrowly from jumping, and chuckled.

After a bit of playful fuss from Toothless, and a quick greeting to Blu and Jewel, who stood nearby, munching on some fruit they'd found as they laid together next to the pond, he got the saddle on, and started practicing.

It was a crude representation of work, only having been done in a single night, and the tail's gears were controlled by a rope, which Hiccup would pull on to get the desired extension.

As the two flew in the cove's area, Blu and Jewel observing from the ground as they munched on a couple fish they'd caught in the pond, Hiccup pulled on the rope to see what would happen, and quickly found out, by way of freezing water, that adjustments would need to be made; Toothless had veered hard left so suddenly, Hiccup had been thrown right out of the saddle.

He decided Blu and Jewel's chortling laughter wasn't a good thing to hear in this circumstance, and would find a way to one-up them later, glaring at them as Toothless sulked nearby, munching on caught salmon.

The next day hadn't gone so well either; he'd tried to remake the saddle, attaching the rope to his foot, only to find it didn't work either, groaning in pain as the two crashed into a pine tree, Blu and Jewel laughing even harder than the day before.

* * *

Though there _was_ certainly an upside to the most recent failure, Hiccup had discovered, as he stood in the dragon training arena the next day, as he and the others in the class faced down a Gronckle.

After knocking over an arms stand, the Gronckle veered in Hiccup's direction, but he held out the blades of grass in his hand, which he now affectionately referred to as Dragon Nip, and the Gronckle crashed to the ground in front of him, eagerly sniffing the grass.

Perplexed and amazed, Hiccup took a step forward, rubbing the grass over the Gronckle's nose, and it promptly melted into a dragon-shaped puddle, its anger completely evaporating in the space of a second, as the growing crowd around the arena watched in fascination.

Later, Hiccup had to beat a hasty retreat back to the arena, claiming he'd forgot his axe. The sudden attention, the _good_ kind, from the others in his class minus Astrid had, contrary to his own desires and beliefs, set him on edge, as if he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

* * *

Later that day, Hiccup discovered _another_ amazing thing about dragons: they had very sensitive skin near their heads, and scratching it like one would relieve an itch caused the dragons to completely forget about whatever they were doing and extend their heads straight out. Another application of said scratches under their chins would cause the dragon to collapse on the ground in contented pleasure. He stared at his hands in awe of this new discovery…

* * *

…one he quickly put to good use in the next day's dragon training.

Astrid missed an axe throw, which bounced off the spikes sticking out of the Deadly Nadder's skin, and had to duck around to retrieve it, as the Nadder charged at Hiccup.

Hiccup, however, had planned for this, and much to the crowd's shock and Astrid's baffled anger, the Nadder stopped in front of him, sniffing the Dragon Nip he had hidden under his fleece coat, and before Astrid could hurt it, he scratched on the side of its chin, causing it to collapse to the ground the same way Toothless had done the day before.

High above the arena, beyond the vision of most of the Vikings, Blu and Jewel shared a smile at Hiccup's progress. "He's really getting the hang of this, isn't he?"

Jewel nodded. "To think just a week ago, he would likely have refused any interactions with dragons, and now he's out there, interacting with them in a way that, based off the looks he's getting, hasn't _ever_ been done before."

"Well, why don't we fly back to the cove and give Toothless the good news?" Blu asked, stretching his wings in preparation for a flight.

Jewel quickly joined him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

Astrid couldn't understand! How the _hell_ had Hiccup suddenly gone from being completely and utterly useless to being able to effortlessly take down every. Single. _Dragon_ that he laid eyes on!

She angrily chomped at her chicken leg, the four boys in her usual entourage gathered around her at the table as they chatted animatedly with each other, Astrid not interested in making idle chatter.

However, she found herself _even more angry_ when Hiccup showed up to take his usual isolated spot with his single chicken leg, only for _everyone_ at her table, as well as some of the village's residents, to flock straight to the table and begin chatting with Hiccup in whatever way they thought to.

She slammed the tankard she'd ben drinking from down onto the wooden table, and half the remainder of its contents splashed out, soaking the Dragon Manual that had been underneath.

* * *

Later, Hiccup was in the cove, working on a small smithing project, when he noticed Toothless erratically prancing around like an aggravated cat, following what seemed to be a moving pinprick of light on the ground. It only took him a second to realize that the light had been the reflection of the small iron mallet he'd been using, and he realized he'd found another trick to interact with dragons…

* * *

…which, just like the others, was put to use in dragon training to prove its validity.

"Meet the Terrible Terror," Gobber introduced, as a _very_ small dragon came out of the massive gate it had been behind… or rather, the tiny door built _into_ the gate.

Tuffnut chuckled, gesturing to the tiny dragon with his shield. 'Heh, it's like the size of-"

He was quickly and crudely interrupted when the Terrible Terror _jumped_ like a frog and latched itself onto his face, causing a panic that resulted in everyone screaming and running for the sides of the arena.

To the crowd's unjustly horrified shock, Hiccup stood his ground, casting aside his axe as he got into a patch of light and used the metal spike on his shield to get the Terror's attention, which worked flawlessly.

Tuffnut stared at Hiccup, dumbfounded, as Hiccup used the light of the shield to guide the Terror back into its cage, putting his foot in front of the door to keep it from getting out once it got in.

"Wow, he's better than you ever were," Tuffnut, now back with the rest of the amazed – and angry in Astrid's case – group, inconsiderately remarked to Astrid, who was grinding her teeth in fury.


	6. 6: The Grand Flight

**Chapter 6: The Grand Flight**

Astrid angrily threw her axe into a tree, and repeated the process, her anger clouding her mind to the point she barely registered her surroundings. Instinct and the target of her anger appearing were the only reasons she hesitated with her next axe throw.

Hiccup stopped upon seeing Astrid about to throw an axe _at him_. Trying to shake off the nervousness, he adopted a blank expression, wordlessly turned, and ran, hauling his latest version of Toothless saddle into the forest in the direction of the cove, hiding behind the same large boulder he'd discovered Toothless near to get off her trail.

Astrid angrily pounded her fist against said boulder thinking the trail had gone cold, unaware of Hiccup hiding barely a foot away from her.

Later, Hiccup tied a rope to the tailfin and tied the other end to the saddle itself, and he fashioned a harness to keep himself and Toothless relatively grounded so they wouldn't go flying off in the middle of testing. Finding it didn't work _quite_ as well as he'd hoped, he made a couple adjustments to his book drawing, then took to the air with Toothless a second time, except the rope, and the wooden post it was attached to, could no longer handle their weight being carried off by the wind, and the two went flying back into the trees.

Hiccup groaned as he got up, and found that the harness he'd made to keep himself attached to Toothless was now bent inward, meaning he was unable to unstrap himself from the saddle. "Oh, great."

* * *

"Hiccup," one of the various residents of the village shortly greeted Hiccup as he leaned silently against the frame of the smithy that was his home away from home. He nervously smiled and gave a halfhearted wave.

As they passed, and the torchlight faded as its range decreased, Toothless tried to follow the villager, forgetting momentarily that Hiccup was still attached to him, and Hiccup had to pull the Night Fury back and into the smithy.

Unfortunately, Toothless had made too much noise entering, and as Hiccup used another of his improvised tools to attempt roughly prying the harness and the hook apart – which wouldn't have been successful anyways, considering Hiccup had made the contraption _specifically_ to hold under even the most strenuous conditions – Astrid called out from outside, and Hiccup's eyes widened and his heart accelerated its pace in fear. "Hiccup?"

"Are you in there?" Astrid called, but her eyes narrowed when Hiccup _jumped_ out of the smithy's shuttered window, landing roughly in front of her, and it looked like he was trying to conceal something.

Hiccup immediately leaned on the shutters to keep them closed. "Astrid, hey! Hi, Astrid, hi, Astrid, hi, Astrid."

Astrid crossed her arms. "I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird." Hiccup grunted in pain and stumbled, looking as if he'd been pulled _back_ toward the shutters. "Well, weird_er_."

Astrid tensed as he saw Hiccup come _off the ground_, then fly back into the smithy through the shutters. _What the hell? Those shutters only open one way!_ She ran to the shutters and flung them open, only to find Hiccup had gone completely missing. Meanwhile, Toothless sprinted away, Hiccup silently hanging on to him as he ran out of the village and toward the cove.

* * *

The next morning, Gobber stood on the field as Stoick and the fleet came back in, every single longboat completely tattered and barely able to float.

Stoick approached him, hauling what looked to be a bag of fish. "Hey, I trust you found the nest, at least?"

Stoick gave a dismissing gesture. "Not even _close_."

"Ah… excellent."

Gobber moved to follow Stoick, and the man briefly turned his head to his number-one assistant. "I hope you had a little more success than me."

"Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over, then… _yes_."

Stoick gave Gobber a sideways glance, and was about to reply, when some of the Vikings that had stayed in port approached the two of them. "Congratulations, Stoick! Everyone is _so_ relieved!" "Out with the old, and in with the new, right?" "No one will miss _that_ old nuisance!" "The village is throwing a party to celebrate!"

Stoick immediately suspected the worst, turning to Gobber with an inquisitive glance. "He's gone?"

Gobber turned and started walking. "Umm… yeah, most afternoons, but who could blame him? I mean, the life of a celebrity is very rough. He can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by his _new fans_."

Stoick grabbed Gobber's shoulder and turned him around to stare him dead in the face. "_Hiccup?_"

"Who would've thought it, eh? He has this _way_ with the beasts."

* * *

**(Song: **_**Test Drive**_** by John Powell, from the **_**How to Train Your Dragon**_** motion picture soundtrack)**

Hiccup and Toothless flew hundreds of feet over the open ocean. They'd just departed Raven's Point on their first official flight with the tailfin addition, and both Hiccup and Toothless were hoping it would go smoothly. Blu and Jewel flew alongside them, serene smiles on their faces as they watched Hiccup and Toothless.

"Okay there, bud, we're gonna take this _nice_ and slow." Hiccup patted Toothless' chin as they flew, Blu and Jewel deciding between themselves to hang back a little bit.

"So how do you think this is going to go? For Hiccup, I mean." Blu asked Jewel as they flew.

"Well, this is another matter of the instinct, only instead of the avian instinct, Hiccup is going to have to tap into _his own_. It'll be interesting, though let's hope it doesn't get into life-threatening." Jewel remarked. "I saw him modify his saddle with that little clip for papers. Bet you he's got some kind of cheat sheet on there." She shook her head in amusement. "Though let's hope it doesn't have to come to drastic measures."

Blu chuckled. "No doubt about that." He looked down shyly for a moment. "I hope so too. My being able to fly was a price I was horrifically close to paying with your life and our future."

Jewel bumped her wing onto his, a small frown on her face. "Hey, chill out, Blu. We're fine, safe and happy now. It's in the past. Besides, if that was the only way to awaken your instinct and I had to choose to do it again, I would in a heartbeat. Now stop sulking and let's see if Hiccup has what it takes."

Blu nodded, and the two returned their gazes to Hiccup and Toothless.

"Okay, here we go, here we go. Position… three- no, _four_." Hiccup made the proper adjustments, and Toothless briefly looked back at the tailfin as it expanded to mast, before redirecting his attention forward.

After a couple minutes of flying, with the two doing a circle around the heights of the island and arriving back at Raven's Point, Hiccup narrowed his eyes, exhaled heavily, and set himself up. "Alright, it's go time, it's go time."

The two dived toward the ocean, pulling up a couple seconds before they would have hit the ocean, and Toothless' left wing grazed the water, creating a huge spray. "Come on, buddy! Come on, buddy!"

As they passed under one of the many large, dual rock formations Berk was known for, Hiccup switched the tailfin position again, straightening the contraption out. Looking back, he noticed the fin was properly aligned, and hadn't suffered any damage from a mid-flight adjustment. "Yes, it worked!"

Unfortunately, Hiccup hadn't entirely gotten the hang of things, and the tailfin position was on the wrong setting to dodge the sea stack they grazed against, Toothless bouncing roughly off its surface. "Sorry!" Unable to realize his mistake, Hiccup kept the tailfin on the same setting, and Toothless ran into another sea stack, growling in agitation. "That was my fault."

Toothless used his right ear to slap Hiccup in the face. "Argh! Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." Hiccup looked back down to the sheet as it sat snug in the clip. "Position four… uh, three." Once the proper adjustments were made, Hiccup pulled up on the saddle, and he and Toothless flew high into the sky at speed. "Yeah! Go, baby! Yes!"

Hiccup couldn't help but feel like he could let himself go in this very moment, being in the sky where only those with wings could claim dominion. The adrenaline in him flowed unabated, and he was utterly exhilarated. "Oh, this is amazing! The wind in my…"

Suddenly, the cheat sheet was ripped out of its holding spot by the hurricane-force winds present in the higher areas of the sky, and Hiccup's eyes widened in horror. "_…cheat sheet! STOP!_"

Jewel sighed, now hovering in the air. "For the record, Blu, I'm not saving either of them, so have fun. Can't say I didn't call it."

Blu glared at Jewel, before harrumphing and turning away pointedly. "I'm not saving them either."

Jewel's eyes widened and she stared at Blu with a slack-jawed expression. "What do you mean you're not saving them?!"

"Do you remember the last time something like this happened? To _me specifically?_"

Jewel cocked her head at Blu for a moment, before her eyes flew open. Suddenly, she _understood_. "The instinct."

Blu nodded resolutely. "Exactly. It took a life-threatening situation, and me almost losing you, for me to tap into my own. This will be a lesson for Hiccup if he can harness his own latent potential. It's only in our darkest hour that we become who we were meant to be."

Jewel chuckled, and flew over, kissing Blu on the cheek. "Jeez, get all philosophical on me." She turned back to Toothless and Hiccup as they fell from the sky. "Well, we at least need to make sure they aren't going to get themselves killed." Blu nodded.

Toothless turned his back to Hiccup, and stopped flying, allowing Hiccup to grab the paper that had slipped from its position, only for the safety cord to come loose of the saddle. Toothless' eyes widened in horror and fear as he roared, Hiccup screaming in fear alongside him. "_Oh shit! Hiccup!_" "_NOOOOOO!_"

"Oh gosh! Oh, gods! Oh no!" Hiccup was understandably panicked, falling at nearly terminal velocity through the air. Blu estimated they had about three-quarters of a mile to fall before they hit something _hard_ and inevitably died.

Hiccup's mind whirled at a million miles an hour as he tried to think of a way to save the two of them. "Alright, you gotta kinda… angle yourself!" Toothless tried to do as Hiccup said, but ended up higher in the sky, roaring in fear. "Okay, no, no, no… come back down toward me! Come back down- _**OW!**_" Hiccup yelped in pain as Toothless accidentally slapped him _hard_ upside the head with one of his wings.

Luckily, Toothless managed to get into position as Hiccup recovered from the hit that would _inevitably_ leave a mark in the morning, and he managed to reach enough to grab the saddle, locking the safety cord back in place and adjusting the tailfin so that they were back to flying shape.

Of course, there was now a _new_ problem: they were descending _too fast_, and were too close to the ground – the forested cliffs of the highlands of Berk – to execute a maneuver that would allow them to save face without eating dirt _hard_.

Hiccup and Toothless, in sync with one another, pulled _up_, and Toothless' wings and tail flew out, catching all the air they could to slow down. As a result, the very tips of Toothless' wings _repeatedly broke the sound barrier_, and their resulting trails were easily visible to Blu and Jewel. Toothless roared in effort as the ground rapidly approached, but they narrowly missed the forested cliffs-

-only to come face-to-face with the deadliest set of sea stacks this side of Berk. Hiccup grabbed the cheat sheet out of his mouth, and glanced at it, taking as much time as he reasonably could, before groaning in exasperation and letting the cheat sheet be carried away by the wind once more.

Blu and Jewel's eyes widened. "Is he giving himself over to his instinct?" Jewel couldn't tell from such a distance.

Blu let out a deep, drawn-out sigh. "I hope he realizes the significance of what he's just done, because if he isn't ready for this part, he and Toothless are going to _die_."

Hiccup quickly started making changes to the tailfin, until he _felt_ the one he thought to be right, and Toothless managed to dodge some of the sea stacks at speed with barely five or ten feet between them.

Hiccup made another adjustment, and they dodged the worst of the sea stacks; then, as he made another adjustment, praying to all the gods that this wouldn't be the end, they pulled through the last set of sea stacks and back out of the fog, into the open ocean once again.

Hiccup, realizing he and Toothless had actually _made it_ through Berk's single deadliest zone on nothing but hope and instinct, let go of the saddle, thrusting his arms into the sky. "_Yeah!_" Toothless shot one of his plasma bolts out of his mouth in excitement, and it exploded in the sky directly in front of them. "Oh, _come on_."

Jewel chuckled as she watched Hiccup and Toothless. "Well, would you look at that. He actually did it." She smiled and put on a burst of speed to catch up to the two. She turned her head back to see Blu, who was trying and periodically failing to keep up. "Come on, ostrich! Catch me if you can!"

"Oh, that is _it_! _Someone's_ getting put in the birdhouse tonight!"

"That's _not_ how it works, Blu!"

"That's how it works _now!_"

* * *

A brief return flight later, the quartet rested themselves on one of Berk's larger sea stacks, a pile of fruit in front of Blu and Jewel, their wings wrapped around one another as they munched happily. On the opposite end of a small, stoked fire, Hiccup leaned against Toothless' side as the two ate from a pile of fish Toothless had procured from the ocean's vast resources, Hiccup having used the fire to cook his while Toothless ate them raw. Hiccup's clothes and face were singed from flying _directly_ into a fire, but other than that, he was fine.

Toothless regurgitated half of one of the fishes he had eaten, gesturing to Hiccup to eat it, but he only held up his charred fish in response. "Uh, no thanks, I'm good."

The group watched as a group of Terrible Terrors flew in, landing near them, attracted as they were by the scents. Two of them went over to Blu and Jewel's pile of fruit, while the other two went to Hiccup and Toothless' pile of fish.

Blu and Jewel happily gave each of the two that approached them an apple an orange for them to eat, and the two gulped down the proffered fruit and belching, before settling themselves down next to Blu and Jewel.

"Aww, aren't they sweet, Blu?" Jewel looked to Blu, who was giving the tiny dragons a calculating gaze as they quickly fell asleep next to them. "Blu, what's with that look?"

"Sure, they're nice and cool. As long as they aren't _Rafael's kids._" The tone that had been injected into the last two words of Blu's sentence was _dripping_ with loathing.

Jewel snorted despite herself, then burst into laughter, wiping a tear from her eye. Blu joined her a moment later. "Ugh, don't remind me."

Next to them, the other two Terrors were fighting amongst themselves for the half fish that Toothless had regurgitated, and one blew the other back with a small gout of fire.

The other one quickly ran around, behind Hiccup and Toothless' backs, and snuck into the pile, dragging out one of the fish to eat for itself. Toothless growled angrily, snatching the fish back up before the Terror could take it far, and gulped it down.

The Terror tried to glare Toothless down ,who remained unphased, and as it got ready to blast a gout of fire at him, the gas already accumulating in its mouth, Toothless shot a low-powered plasma charge into its mouth, causing the tiny dragon to double in size for a brief moment, before landing back on all fours and stumbling around as if drunk.

Hiccup chuckled. "Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" He grabbed one of the fish Toothless had left for him, and tossed it at the Terror, who ate it whole. The Terror, now content, along with the other one, got under Hiccup's arms as they made themselves comfortable. Hiccup lightly grazed a hand over each of their snouts, and they started softly purring like cats. "Everything we know about you guys… is _wrong_…"

Toothless laid his head down, now content in a full stomach, glancing at Hiccup as he let the Terrors cuddle up to him. _Maybe… Hiccup here might actually be the one to do it… He's shown such hospitality to me and my fellow dragons. Hell, he didn't want me to stay grounded so he _built_ me a replacement tailfin! Of course, he had to control it himself, but he did all of this for me. When humans have traditionally taken everything _away_… he's been one who wants to _give_ instead of take._

* * *

Hiccup idly flicked his sketching pencil up and down the diagonal surface of the table. Around him, numerous sketches laid, some of Toothless, others of the saddle and tailfin, and others still of any number of other things that one would care to take a guess at.

He looked up to find Stoick crossing the threshold of his room. He shot up, covering the pictures of Toothless he'd drawn. "Dad, you're back! I… uh… Gobber's not here, so-"

"I know. I came looking for you." Stoick said shortly, and it looked to Hiccup like his father was trying to keep his face neutral. _That can't be good._

"You did?"

"You've been keeping secrets." Stoick crossed his arms as best he could, and Hiccup noticed the horns of a helmet in his arms. _Why does he have a helmet? Conquest trophy, maybe?_

"I… have?"

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Stoick's voice dropped a bit lower, and Hiccup gulped in fear. He recognized that voice; in the old days, when a raiders' ship had landed on Berk, he'd taken the same tone with them, and they'd fled for their lives.

"I don't know what you're-"

"_Nothing_ happens on this island without me hearing about it." Stoick pulled up one of the chairs, sitting down as the wood creaked in protest under the massive Viking chieftain's weight. "So let's talk about that dragon."

Hiccup gulped. _Here it comes. Toothless, I don't know what else I can do._ "Oh, gods. Dad, I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how to-" Hiccup was interrupted by Stoick's bellowing belly-laughter. After a moment, he calmed down. "Wait... you're not… upset?"

"What?! I was _hoping_ for this!"

Hiccup gulped. _Something's wrong here, either he knows and he's just pretending to be happy… or the village still isn't aware of Toothless' existence._ "Uh, you _were_?"

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait 'till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time, and mount your first Gronckle head on a spear! _What a feeling!_" Stoick bumped Hiccup's chest with a hand, sending the teenager straight back into his chair. "You really had me going there, son! All those years of the _worst_ Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough! I almost gave upon you! And all the while, you were holding out on me! _OH THOR ALMIGHTY!_ With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about."

Hiccup just stood awkwardly. He wasn't able to say a word; if he revealed his secret, he'd likely be thrown in the dungeons, or worse _exiled_, but if he didn't, who knew how long it would be until Berk found out about Toothless? Even Blu and Jewel to an extent. The fact birds of _any_ species could _talk_ was a thing in itself, but Hiccup wasn't naïve enough to believe the Vikings wouldn't overlook that fact and still lock the two up in cages along with Toothless, who they'd likely _kill_. The very thought of that last ending made him sick to his stomach.

Eventually, Stoick held his hands out, the helmet Hiccup had noticed earlier in them. "I, I uh… I brought you something." He used his hand to straight out one of the helmet's horns before passing it to Hiccup. "To keep you safe, In the ring."

Surprised, Hiccup accepted the helmet. "Wow. Thanks."

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it. It's half of her breastplate." Hiccup, who had held his hand over the top of the helmet, suddenly removed said hand, shaking it lightly as if drying it off from water. Stoick tapped a finger against his own helmet. "Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know? Wear it proudly; you deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."

Hiccup gingerly set the helmet down on his drawing desk, then feigned sleepiness, even adding a fake yawn as he stretched his arms up. "I should really get to bed."

After a moment of the two repeatedly fumbling around with words, Stoick crossed back outside of Hiccup's room. "Well, uh… good night."

As Stoick walked out, he accidentally bumped in an old armor stand, sending it and the armor and weapon it displayed, clattering to the ground in a big ruckus. He cringed, but walked on anyway; this was the smithy, so Gobber or any one of the voluntary housekeepers would probably have it cleaned up by morning.

As Stoick left, a million thoughts flew through Hiccup's head as he breathed heavily. _Oh no, what am I going to do? I can't keep this a secret much longer, but the longer I do, the more trouble I get in, and the more likely my friends are to be captured, or worse, _killed_. _


	7. 7: A Shocking Revelation

**Chapter 7: A Shocking Revelation**

The entire village watched in anticipation, gazing into the dragon arena, where Hiccup and Astrid, the last ones standing out of the six-person dragon training class – the Twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs had been eliminated prior due to slip-ups or mistakes – stood, each wielding a shield and an axe, as they faced off against an erratically flying Gronckle. This event would determine who would get to kill their very first dragon.

Hiccup carefully observed the Gronckle as it flew around the edge of the arena, ducking behind one of the various wooden posts as it passed by, and Astrid moved from her own onto the one he'd taken cover under.

Astrid forced his shield down, glaring at him ruefully. "Stay out of my way. I'm _winning_ this thing."

"Oh, please, by all means." Hiccup didn't even _want_ to win, but having discovered all these tricks to interact and get along with dragons of almost any species, he had been slowly forced down the rabbit hole, having found himself here after his latest bout of training. Of course, if push came to shove, he still had some Dragon Nip tucked away in one of his self-fashioned inner pockets of the coat he always wore, just to make sure he didn't get eaten, but he secretly hoped it wouldn't come to that.

On the face of the cliff eight hundred feet about the arena, Blu and Jewel keenly observed the battle. "Hmm… I don't particularly like that girl. I heard her name was Astrid?"

Blu nodded. "Don't understand why you don't like her, she's no-nonsense, a go-getter, and she doesn't take shit from anyone. Kind of like-"

"Tyler Blu Gunderson, I _dare_ you to finish that sentence." Blu gulped, deciding to let sleeping beasts lie before he dug himself into an inescapable, water-filled hole. The two macaws turned back to the arena.

Hiccup took a sidelong glance at the arena wall, noticing Stoick keenly observing him. He sighed and used the blade end of his axe to adjust his new helmet atop his head.

As the Gronckle slowly made its way erratically toward Hiccup, Astrid dove from cover to cover among the wooden fencing. "This time. This time _for sure."_ Target locked, she hopped over the last one and let out a battle cry, charging at the Gronckle.

Only… she didn't get the glory of her first kill. She hadn't even _seen_ anything happening, but the scene that unrolled itself in front of her… it looked like the Gronckle was _playfully_ rolling around on the stone floor, its tongue lazily flopping around out of its mouth, and Hiccup stood in a half-crouch three feet away, his axe, helmet, and shield in a pile on the ground next to him. Astrid stood there, frozen in shock, mouth agape.

She began angrily swinging her war-axe around, her emotions clouding her reasoning. "NO! No! Son of a half-troll, rat-eating _munge bucket!_"

Stoick quickly called an end to the fight. "Wait! Wait."

"So… later-"

"Oh, not so fast," Gobber shortly said as he used his prosthetic hook to grab Hiccup and lift him back into the grounds.

"Uh-uh, I'm kinda… late for-"

"_WHAT?!_ Late for _what, exactly?!_" Astrid spat out venomously as she hefted the end of her axe handle at Hiccup's throat, effectively trapping him.\

"Okay, quiet down; the Elder has decided." Stoick projected his voice, and soon, the whole arena went quiet.

Gobber stepped behind the two teens, holding his prosthetic arm above Astrid, and the entire village went up in confused and astonished whispers when the Elder shook her head no. Gobber hesitantly lifted his actual hand above Hiccup, and she nodded as the village went up in cheers.

_Oh no. Oh gods, no…_ Hiccup knew _exactly_ what this meant.

"Oh, you've done it! _You've done it, Hiccup!_ You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber said excitedly as the other four of the class rushed into the arena, cheering Hiccup on as they hoisted him off the ground.

"_That's_ my boy!" Stoick shouted, throwing his fist outward.

"Yeah, yes, I can't wait. I'm so…"

* * *

"…leaving," Hiccup muttered, then repeated in a louder voice so Toothless could hear him, as he walked into the cove. "We're leaving. Let's pack up." He threw down the bag containing as many of his things as he could feasibly carry, setting it down next to the boulder he'd become increasingly familiar with over the last two weeks. "Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation… _forever_."

He panicked upon hearing the _distinct_ sound of stone grinding against metal, backing away from the boulder to find Astrid sitting on top of it. "Oh, what the- Wha… what are you doing here?"

Astrid let the rock slip numbly from her fingers, giving Hiccup a sideways glance. "I wanna know what's going on." She hopped off the boulder and began pushing Hiccup back just by walking forward. "No one just _gets_ as good as you do. _Especially_ you. Start talking. Are you training with someone?"

"Uh… training…?"

"It had better not involve _this_," Astrid said as she roughly grabbed Hiccup's leather shoulder-pad.

"I-I know _this_ looks really bad, but… You see, this is… uh…" Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid noticed what she thought was a _dragon_, and heard a twig snap, that she knew wasn't because of her.

She grabbed Hiccup and jerked him to the side, causing him to fall with a grunt. "Uh-uh, you're right, you're right, you're right. I-I-I-I'm through with the lies; I've been making _outfits_! So… you got me… it's time everyone knew. Drag me back, go ahead. Her we go-OW! Why would you _do_ that?!"

Astrid kicked Hiccup back to the ground as he tried to get up, eliciting another grunt of pain from the boy. "_That's_ for the lies." She turned and dropped the butt of her axe handle right onto Hiccup's stomach, causing him to moan in pain. "_That's_… for _everything else_."

Astrid _distinctly_ heard a dragon's growl, and was immediately set on edge. "Oh man," Hiccup groaned from his spot on the ground, knowing what was likely about to happen. She looked in what she thought was the direction of the growl, only to find a _Night Fury_ of all dragons glaring at her and ready to pounce.

Astrid gasped, and instinct kicked in, overriding her anger at Hiccup. She dived backward, dragging Hiccup to the ground. "_Get down!_"

Toothless growled, seeing what he thought was a threat to Hiccup's safety, and quickly pounced toward the new person in the cove, entirely unreceptive of any new visitors that Hiccup hadn't already given the okay.

Astrid rolled to the side, quickly pushing herself back up and hefting her axe. "Run! _Run!_"

Hiccup managed to quickly recover, jumping in front of Astrid and throwing her to the ground, tossing the axe aside as he jumped to stop Toothless from jumping on Astrid. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. She's a friend." Toothless, deciding to listen to Hiccup, dropped back to all fours, but kept slowly walking forward.

Hiccup glanced to Astrid as she fearfully backed away. "You scared him."

"_I_ scared _him?!_" Astrid was now _extremely_ anxious and suspicious. "_Who_… is _him?!_"

Hiccup sighed, getting up on both feet. "Astrid, Toothless." He turned back to Toothless, who was still giving Astrid an angry glare. "_Toothless_, Astrid." Toothless let out a breathy snarl, and Astrid, fearing for Hiccup's safety and that of the village, ran for the cove's exit.

Hiccup dramatically groaned. "Da duh-da, we're dead." Toothless growled and turned to run backward behind him, and Hiccup's attention focused on Toothless. "Whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa, _whoa_, where do you think _you're_ going?"

Astrid ran as fast as she could, her axe having been completely forgotten in the cove. She looked back to make sure the Night Fury wasn't following her, but as she jumped a fallen tree, said Night Fury snatched her up as it flew toward a pine tree. "Oh, Odin help me, this is it! Ohhh!"

Toothless dropped her on one of the large branches atop a large pine tree, then landed on the pine himself, causing the entire tree to bow dangerously forward. "Hiccup! Get me _down_ from here!"

"You have to give me a chance to explain!"

"I am not listening to _anything_ you have to say!"

"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you… _Please_, Astrid." Astrid started pulling herself up on the branch as she carefully made her way to Toothless' saddle. Hiccup held out her hand to help her get on, but she slapped it away, mounting Toothless on her own.

"Now get me down."

Hiccup stared forward, patting Toothless' head. "Toothless, down. _Gently_." He turned back to Astrid as Toothless spread his wings. "See? Nothing to be afraid of." Unfortunately for both him _and_ Astrid, he didn't notice Toothless' aggravated glare being directed into the sky.

"Wh_oa!_" "AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Toothless! What is _wrong with you?! Bad dragon!_" He glanced nervously to Astrid as Toothless flew, now high above Berk's waters. "He's, uh… he's not usually like this." He noticed Toothless going for a reverse dive, and gulped nervously, rolling his eyes as Astrid started screaming. "Oh, no."

Toothless divebombed straight into the frigid ocean waters several hundred feet below, coming back up and re-entering, before exiting the water permanently, resorting instead to repeatedly skimming the water's surface in such a way that Astrid would become soaked. To Toothless, Hiccup being soaked as well was just an unintended side effect. "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to _like us!_"

Toothless shot upward in the sky, and the second he started a rapid turn, Hiccup internally cursed to himself as Astrid screamed for probably the sixth or seventh time. "And now the _spinning_. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile," Hiccup blandly muttered as Toothless turned back down to do another ocean divebomb.

"I get it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off of this thing…" Astrid desperately forced out through her clenched teeth, and as if on cue, Toothless pulled himself out of the divebomb and gently glided a few hundred feet over the water's surface, flying in toward Berk's sea stacks, the cloudy sunset casting light across them as they flew.

Hiccup's eyebrow twitched. _Really, Toothless? This whole stunt drive was for an _apology?!

Blu choked on the pear he was eating as the two did their best to follow Toothless. "Are you actually kidding me right now?! Where did _he_ learn to become so petty?"

Jewel clicked her beak in annoyance. "Doesn't matter now, what's done is done. Let's go follow them to make sure Toothless doesn't do anything _else_ reckless."

Toothless pulled up on his own, taking Hiccup and Astrid into the clouds, and Astrid fearfully cracked her eyes, before noticing that not only was the flight much more stable than before, but she was literally _inside_ a cloud. Amazed, she reached her hand out to touch it, only to have her hand come off slick with unshed moisture.

A genuine smile of joy crossed her features as she let her other arm uncoil itself from its grasp around Hiccup's midsection, and she let her arms fly around, touching the cloud despite the frigid moisture it deposited onto her.

Over an hour later, above the clouds, Astrid was amazed when Toothless pulled up out of the range of the clouds, revealing Berk as she'd _never_ seen it before, from the perspective of the beasts of the sky.

Toothless gave an open-mouthed smile at Astrid upon seeing her finally relax and give herself over to the joy of flying high in the sky, and she wrapped her arms uncaringly around Hiccup's waist, resting her head on his shoulder. Hiccup was certainly not expecting that, but after a couple seconds, decided it wasn't the _worst_ thing that had ever happened to him, and let Astrid be as she was. Toothless took them up into the sky near Berk's resident mountain, and they disappeared from the view of any searching Viking that might have been looking for a dragon in the sky.


	8. 8: A Grave Mistake

**Chapter 8: A Grave Mistake**

"Alright, I admit it," Astrid started as she continued looking around at the land and sea below them as they flew past Berk's tall mountain, "this is pretty cool." After a moment, she revised her assessment. "It's… _amazing_. _He's_ amazing," she said as she patted Toothless' head. Hiccup gave a genuine smile for the first time the entire flight, relieved Toothless' antics earlier in the flight hadn't caused Astrid to hurl over the side.

"So, what now?" And just like that, Hiccup's smile dropped straight off his face like it hadn't even been there. Astrid glanced over his shoulder, trying to keep him from breaking eye contact. "Hiccup, your final exam is _tomorrow_. You know you're going to have to ki-" She stopped, realizing Toothless would easily take offense to what she was about to say, and she whispered the rest of the sentence into Hiccup's ear. "-_kill_ a dragon."

"Ugh, don't remind me, Hiccup said, shaking his head as he tried to clear the bad mental images from his conscience.

Underneath them, Toothless' eyes dilated into their predatory slits when he heard the growl of another dragon, and his ears pointed up as he looked around, searching the skies for the other dragon. Suddenly, Toothless banked a hard dive straight into the fog they'd been flying over, Hiccup and Astrid moaning in surprise as they held on tightly.

"Toothless, what's happening?!" Hiccup asked in a hurry. He knew when Toothless got anxious, and it was never a good thing. "What is it?"

Behind and above them, Blu and Jewel's eyes narrowed as they watched Toothless dive into the thick fog. "What do you think is happening?" Jewel asked Blu.

"I think I heard another dragon's growl. One dragon we're friendly with is fine, but one or more that we haven't met and could potentially be hostile? We'd become an hoers d'oeuvre. I say we head back to the cove and let Hiccup and Astrid deal with this."

Jewel only needed a second glance in the fog, which starkly reminded her of the smoky fog from the logging operation seventeen years ago, before she nodded, turning back to Berk as she and Blu flew away.

Toothless flew erratically as he tried to gain his bearings in the thick fog, and as another dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, passed next to him, completely unseen thanks to the fog, Toothless flew back to his original spot, trying to correct for the sudden presence of another dragon.

"Get down!" Hiccup harshly whispered to Astrid, and the two of them put their heads down. Numerous more dragons appeared out of the other areas of the fog, and Hiccup and Toothless both noticed that dead animals, including some of Berk's own sheep flocks, were being hauled whole by the dragons as they flew.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked uncertainly.

"I don't know. Toothless, you gotta get us out of here, bud." Hiccup tried to convince the Night Fury to leave, but Toothless shook off his hand and continued flying. "It looks like they're hauling in their kill."

"Uh… what does that make us?"

Regardless of what Hiccup and Astrid were in that moment, it didn't matter. Toothless dived as the rest of the dragons did the same around them, and the entire flock started dodging several large sea stacks. Astrid started to raise her voice in a scream, but Hiccup clamped his free hand over her mouth, shaking his head.

The dragon flock arrived within sight of a large volcano, and Toothless, along with the rest of them, dived into a large hole in the side of the volcano. Eventually, the blue-black darkness of night gave way to the red-orange heated glow of the inside of the volcano.

As the dragons began dropping all their animal dead weight down into the massive hole that likely had lava below the dense red fog, Toothless, cautiously looking around for anything that might be a threat, banked in for a landing behind a large stack of boulders.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find _this_," Hiccup muttered. It seemed they'd just unintentionally discovered the dragon nest that Berkians had searched for since they settled on the island three centuries ago. He noticed the dragons dropping their food, and muttered, "Oh, it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole."

"They're not eating any of it."

A moment later, a baby Gronckle flew into view, dropping a regurgitated piece of fish, then proceeded to scratch at its scales with one of its back feet.

A massive roar sounded, and the Gronckle went to fly away, only for a _massive dragon larger than all of Berk_ to launch itself out of the hole and swallow the Gronckle whole. "What… is _that…?!_" Astrid whispered in horror.

Every single dragon inside the innards of the volcano hid away from the humongous dragon, and it went to slink back into its hole, only to discover a Night Fury standing, hiding behind a rock face. Its pupils dilated, and Toothless prepared to make a desperate escape. "Alright, bud, we gotta get out of here. _Now_."

Toothless jumped and took off with all his might right as the massive dragon lunged completely out of the hole, destroying the rock face Toothless had just been hiding behind.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless took off toward the massive hold in the volcano, every other dragon in tow, and Toothless managed to narrowly avoid a swift, painful death. Unfortunately, the Monstrous Nightmare he darted in front of wasn't so lucky, and was swallowed _whole_ in a single bite.

* * *

"No, no, it totally makes sense! It's like a giant beehive! They're the workers, and _that's_ their queen. It controls them, Astrid said as Toothless landed in the cove and she quickly hopped off, searching for her abandoned war axe. "Let's find your dad."

"No, no!" Hiccup launched himself out of the saddle and unhooked the safety cord in one fluid motion, rolling as he struck the ground to stop Astrid. "No, no… Not… yet, they'll _kill_ Toothless. Uh, Astrid, we have to think this through. Carefully."

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' _nest_! The thing we've been after since Vikings first _sailed here!_ And you wanna keep it a secret?! To protect your pet dragon? Are you _serious?!_"

Hiccup turned around, having faced away from Astrid, and a stone-cold expression of unyielding will had overtaken his features. "_Yes_."

Astrid's hard expression softened, and Hiccup, his face falling on its own, turned back away. "Okay… Then what do we do?"

Hiccup turned his head to look at Astrid. "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

"Okay." Astrid slugged Hiccup in the shoulder, causing him to look aghast at her, glancing back at Toothless, who threw up his wings as if to say, _I don't know._ "That's for kidnapping me." He looked back to find Astrid nervously fidgeting, before she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him over, kissing him on the cheek. "That's for… everything else."

Astrid turned and ran, intent on sleeping on all this new information, and a smile crept its way, unbidden onto Hiccup's face. Toothless looked at Hiccup inquisitively and made a rumbling sound in his throat. "I- Are you- What… what are you looking at?"

* * *

The arena was the main attraction of Berk today, and the entire village stood nearby the stone platform next to the arena. "Well, I can show my face in public again!" Stoick bellowed, standing on the platform, and many of the Berkians laughed.

"If somebody told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from, well, being, uh… _Hiccup_… to placing first in dragon training… Well, I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off, for fear he'd gone mad!" The crowd cheered and laughed a second time. "And you know it!" He held a hand out to silence the crowd. "But… here we are. And no one's more surprised, or more proud, than I am. Today my boy becomes a Viking! Today he becomes one of _us!_"

Hiccup stood watching his father give his speech, and Astrid approached from behind him. "Be careful with that dragon."

"It's not the dragon I'm worried about."

"What are you going to do?"

"Put an end to this. I have to _try_." Hiccup turned around. "Astrid, if something… _goes wrong_, just make sure they don't find Toothless."

"I will. Just… promise me it won't go wrong."

Gobber stepped around the palisade. 'It's time, Hiccup. Knock 'em dead."

Hiccup sighed, stepping out from the palisade's walls and into the arena proper, putting his helmet on as Gobber closed the palisade behind him. He could easily hear the cheers of everyone outside the arena, and he gulped. _Today… will be either the best or worst day of my life._

Hiccup slowly, gingerly, walked to the arms stand, picking out a basic shield with a metal spike and a small dagger, his weapon of choice. "I would have gone for the hammer," Stoick observed as Gobber stepped up next to him.

Hiccup sighed in resignation. He would either live or die today. "I'm ready." _Or… well… as ready as I'll ever be._

The giant wooden beam slowly slid out of the clasp it held down, and the doors burst open to reveal the Monstrous Nightmare from a few days ago, only this time it had been agitated to the point its body had already went alight.

The Nightmare flew erratically around the arena, trying to find some way to escape, and clawed its way through the stone and up the sides of the arena, throwing out a gout of fire that melted part of the chain and forcing some of the Berkians to dodge, before finally deciding to attack, finding Hiccup as its sole target. It dropped down from the chains it had been grabbing onto and slowly stalked toward him.

The entire crowd went silent, intent on examining the next crucial seconds of the battle. "Go on, Hiccup! Give it to 'em!" he heard Stoick encourage him in the background.

He took a deep breath… and dropped the dagger and shield, slowly reaching his hands to his helmet, so as to not provoke or scare the Nightmare. It continued unabated, but Hiccup stood resolute, no longer a foe, but instead a willing friend.

Hiccup grabbed and roughly tossed the helmet aside. "What is he doing?" Stoick inquired, unsure as to Hiccup's methods.

"Hey, it's okay… It's okay…" Hiccup held a hand out, which the Nightmare tentatively placed its snout in, and his gaze turned firm. "_I'm not one of them_."

The entire crowd let out a shocked gasp. What did he mean he wasn't one of them?! Stoick leaned forward severely in the stone entertainer's chair he sat in.

Hiccup could slowly see the Nightmare's eyes soften, but he wasn't able to do anything else when Stoick's voice rang out harshly. "Stop the fight!"

"_No!_ I need you all to see this." He stepped back, removing his hand, and the Nightmare slowly strode closer, confusion and not fear its dominant emotion. "They're not what we think they are. We don't _have_ to kill them."

The entire crowd turned expectantly to Stoick for his answer, and the answer was about as Stoick and anyone would have expected. He grabbed his hammer and jerked it forward, slamming it so hard against the steel railing, it bent significantly. "_I said STOP THE FIGHT!_"

The resonating sound of metal striking metal set the Nightmare back into rage mode, believing it was being attacked, and its jaws snapped at Hiccup, who barely had any time to dodge. "AGH!" He was forced to run to the other side of the arena when the Nightmare blew a gout of fire at him, and he screamed, very loudly.

* * *

Toothless, Blu, and Jewel's heads snapped up instantly. Despite the three miles between here and the arena, they all heard Hiccup's scream plain as day, like he had been right next to them. Blu and Jewel immediately went over to Toothless, using as much strength as they could to get him out of the cove, and the three took off in the direction of the arena. Hiccup was _not_ going to die this day.

* * *

Hiccup desperately ran as the Nightmare jumped across the side of the arena, chasing him, intent on making him pay for a perceived wrong.

"Out of my way!" Stoick forced himself through the crowd as he made his way to the arena.

"_Hiccup!_" Astrid yelled, grabbing a battle axe from the arms stand next to her and using as much brute strength as she could to _force_ the palisade up, managing to get enough up that she slipped through the opening she made.

Hiccup barely dodged a second gout of fire, desperately running to the arms stand and managing to grab a second shield just in time to block the Nightmare's resulting bite, as Stoick barreled his way through to the other side of the palisade, throwing the entire contraption up with a single arm.

Astrid noticed a hammer lying among the wreckage of the arms stand, and she snapped it up, throwing it at the Nightmare's snout with pinpoint accuracy, as Stoick threw the palisade up the rest of the way. The Nightmare promptly turned and charged Astrid.

"This way!" Stoick shouted out, getting Hiccup and Astrid's attention, but right as they started moving, a blur moving faster than any of the Berkians could follow divebombed straight through the steel chain and caused a massive, white _shockwave_ that blew everyone, even Stoick, off their feet, and kicking up a massive cloud of dust that made seeing into the arena virtually impossible. Through the fog, unknown voices could be heard.

"Hurry up, Jewel! I can't hold him down for long!"

"Neither of us can, you imbecile! He's a damn _Nightmare_, for crying out loud!"

"Then we'd better hope Toothless gets here _fast_! What happened to you knowing judo?!"

"I haven't used judo in ten years! I can't just whip it out on the drop of a hat!"

Before anyone had time to comprehend who Toothless was, or what these voices were, a gale from inside the arena blew away the fog, revealing the Nightmare battling, and _winning_, against two large blue dragons none of the Berkians had ever seen before.

The one whose scales were a darker shade of blue turned to Hiccup and Astrid. "Hiccup, you need to get out of here _now_ or you'll die!"

"No, Blu! I'm not giving up! And what are you even doing here?!"

"We came to _help_, obviously! We heard you screaming all the way from Raven's Point!"

Right at that moment, Gobber and the rest of the Berkians heard a distinct sound that could only mean _one dragon_. They turned to find a _Night Fury_ with a _saddle_ blast a hole through the steel cage with one of its oxyacetylene plasma charges, howling in fury.

Together, Blu, Jewel, and Toothless drove off the Nightmare, who quickly backed off, realizing this was a fight it couldn't win.

"Alright, all of you, you need to leave. Go, go, now!"

It was too late, though. Every Viking that could fit into the arena jumped, intent on surrounding the three dragons. Stoick grabbed a large halberd and charged. "No, Dad! They won't hurt you!"

Jewel turned a critical, dangerous gaze to Stoick as he ran forward. "Don't even think about _trying_."

Before either of them could do anything, though, Toothless tackled Stoick and prepared to let off another charge directly in the Viking's face. "Toothless, stop! No! _NOOOO!_"

The last scream managed to get through to Toothless, and he fell out of his blood-lusted state, turning a questioning glance to Hiccup, who breathed heavily. _It's all over._

And over it was. Blu and Jewel, despite their ferocity, were quickly restrained, screaming barely-repressed obscenities, while Toothless was tackled and held to the ground by no less than _ten Vikings_.

"Oh, no, no, no, _please_ just don't hurt them!" Hiccup tried to run forward, but was restrained by a very reluctant Astrid. His voice became very weak; he knew he wouldn't be able to change the village's minds. "Please don't hurt them."

Stoick panted as he glared at the Night Fury in front of him, then glancing at the other two dragons. "Put them with the others."

* * *

Hiccup was thrown completely through the passage of an opened door and into an abandoned hut, and Hiccup stumbled, trying to regain his footing. "I should have known. I should have _seen the signs._"

"Dad?!"

"We had a _deal!_"

"I know we did, but that… that was before I-" Hiccup grabbed his hair, pulling it down in frustration. "Oh, it's all so messed up."

"So everything in the ring… a _trick?!_ A lie."

"I screwed up, I-I-I-I should have told you before now, I… just- you…Take this out on _me_, be mad at _me_, but _please_… Blu… Jewel… Toothless… _Please_ just don't hurt them."

Stoick, an enraged glint in his eyes, turned around on a heel, glaring at Hiccup. "The dragon? _That's_ what you're worried about; not the people you almost _killed?!_"

"I-I-He was just protecting me! He-he's not dangerous!"

"They've killed _hundreds_ of us!"

"_And we've killed THOUSANDS of them!_" Stoick obviously wasn't listening, but Hiccup continued, emotionally damaged. "They defend themselves; that's all! They raid us because they _have to!_ If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten _themselves!_ There's… something else on their island, and it's… it's a dragon like-"

"_Their island?!_ So you've been to the nest."

"Did I say nest?"

"How did you find it?!"

"No, I-I didn't, Toothless did. Only… a _dragon_ can find the island." Stoick stood and turned forward, his gaze harder than steel, and in that moment, Hiccup _knew_ his father was going to get himself and the entire tribe _killed._ "Oh, no-no, no, Dad, no, please! It's not what you think; you don't know what you're up against! It's like nothing you've ever _seen!_"

Stoick pushed Hiccup aside as he stalked forward, his goal clear. "Dad, _please_! I promise you, you can't win this one! Dad, no… _For once in your life, would you PLEASE just listen to me?!_" Stoick apathetically tossed Hiccup back into the hut, and turned around.

"You've thrown your lot in with them." His voice cracked. "You're not a Viking." And Stoick said four words he knew he would never be able to take back. "_You're not my son._"

Stoick stalked out of the hut, slamming the door behind him, but once he realized what he'd just done, his jaw quivered and he took an unwilling step back, as if he'd nearly fainted, before he set his face into a stone mask and continued toward the docks of Berk.


	9. 9: Stoick's Folly

**Chapter 9: Stoick's Folly**

Toothless struggled futilely as he was chained down to a portable metal platform, then lifted onto Stoick's personal longboat, trying in some way to get back to Hiccup. Blu and Jewel, who'd gone willingly and peacefully, were much less restrained – read, _not at all_ – but still had no less than five Vikings watching their every move, the two glancing desperately at each other as they were kept on opposite sides of the deck.

Once the preparations were finished, Stoick stepped onto the longboat, moving to take the helm. "Set sail! We head for Hellheim's Gate!" Stoick glanced back to the docks, and looked up to find his s- _Hiccup the Useless_ casting a bereaved look at him and the longboat, but especially to the Night Fury and the two unknown dragons. He turned around and looked forward, to his ultimate goal. The great beast of the dragon world would be slain tonight by his hands, for the honor of Odin and Thor.

Stoick passed the Night Fury, glaring at it with the same venom it glared back. "Lead us home, _devil_."

Hiccup watched helplessly as the boats sailed onto and past the horizon, becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared entirely from view. Casting a depressed and defeated glance down toward the docks, he barely registered Astrid speaking as she walked up behind him. "It's a mess," she started in a slightly cracked voice.

"You must feel horrible; you've lost _everything_. Your father, your tribe, your best friend."

Hiccup didn't bother summoning the effort required to turn in her direction and give her a baleful glare. "_Thank you_ for summing that up." Hiccup looked past the horizon, to the slowly setting sun only a few degrees from dipping below the horizon and allowing the reign of the night to take over. "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? Would've been better for everyone-"

"Yup. The rest of us would have done it. So why didn't _you_?" Astrid turned a critical gaze to Hiccup. "Why _didn't_ you?"

"…I don't know. I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

Hiccup turned around and casting a displeased scowl at Astrid. "_Why_ is this so important to you all of a sudden?!"

"Because I wanna remember what you say, right now."

Hiccup turned around a second time, having begun to pace in his frustration. "Oh, for the love of- I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"

"You said _wouldn't_ that time."

"Oh, you- whatever! I _wouldn't!_ Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who _wouldn't_ kill a dragon!"

Astrid's face softened as Hiccup turned around. "First to ride one, though… So?"

"I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was… I looked at him, and I saw myself."

Astrid cast her own gaze to the horizon. "I bet he's really frightened now. What are you gonna do about it?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders, knowing the propensity for trouble he'd gotten used to. "Eh, probably something stupid."

"Good, but you've already done that."

A lightbulb suddenly flickered to life in Hiccup's mind, and he had an _idea_, one he wasn't going to let go. "Then something crazy." He took off running across the dock-boards, toward the dragon training arena.

Astrid moved to follow right behind him, having heard all she'd needed to lend a hand. "_That's_ more like it." If there was one thing that could be said about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III's notorious bad streak for getting himself into trouble, it was that while he got _himself_ into trouble, his crazy ideas had the tendency to get other people _out of it_.

* * *

The mass of longboats sailed into the intimidating, blinding fog, ignorant of the danger ahead, Stoick and his ship at their helm. As they went in, Stoick called out to get the attention of the other ship navigators. "Sound your positions; stay within earshot." The captains could be heard giving an affirmative, as well as sounding off to the other captains themselves.

Gobber approached Stoick. "Listen, Stoick, I was overhearing some of the men just now, and-and well, you know, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here. Not-not me, of course, I know you're always the man with a plan, but some – not me – are-are wondering, if there is, in fact, a plan at all, and what it might be."

"Find the nest and take it," Stoick growled out through clenched teeth.

"Oh, of course. Send them running, the ol' Viking fallback. Nice and simple."

Before Gobber could say anything more, Stoick silenced him, glaring at Toothless as he let out a low growl and his ears perked up. Stoick quickly bypassed the others on the longboat and quickly took point at the ship's helm. "Step aside."

As Toothless glanced from left to right occasionally, Stoick turned the ship in said direction, the rest of the fleet quickly following, the captains letting each other know the new direction.

* * *

Hiccup stood resolute in the decision he was about to make, but Astrid had made sure he wouldn't have to do this on his own. The other four had come to Hiccup's aid, and were in the arena alongside Astrid, who glanced nervously at Hiccup.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle," Fishlegs not-so-helpfully commented, and Hiccup's eyes widened seeing the other four here, but he realized this could work.

Tuffnut pushed Ruffnut aside and strode over to Hiccup confidently. "You were wise to seek help from the world's most _deadly_… _weapon_."

Snotlout pushed Tuffnut out of the way. "I _love_ this plan."

"I-I didn't-"

Ruffnut followed suit, pushing _Snotlout_ out of the way. "You're crazy." She leaned forward, and her voice went from a deep questioning tone to a lighter and more husky undertone. "I like that," she dangerously whispered.

Astrid pulled Ruffnut aside and stood in front of Hiccup. "So… what _is_ the plan?"

For the first time since the ships had left port, Hiccup _smiled_.

* * *

"Oh… heh, I was wondering where that went," Gobber idly commented as they passed the wreckage of a Viking ship from ten years prior.

Toothless veered his head in the other direction, and Stoick ran aground on smooth, rocky soil. "Stay low and ready your weapons!" he got out in a hushed whisper with a tone of utmost urgency.

"We're here." Stoick jumped off the side of the ship, and the faint ambient noise instantly disappeared the moment he landed on the soil. He looked up, feeling an unnatural chill crawl up his spine, but he ruthlessly ignored it, walking forward.

* * *

Hiccup slowly paced himself backward toward the group, the Nightmare he'd fought earlier that same day now willingly following him out, led by Hiccup's outstretched hand. The entire group was amazed – aside from Snotlout, who seemed to be stuck between running for his life and soiling his trousers. He went to pick up a small spear weapon, but Astrid slapped his arm. "Uh-uh."

As Hiccup approached, Snotlout began trying to back up, but was held in place by Astrid. Hiccup reached out with his other hand, grabbing Snotlout's arm. "Wait! What are you-"

"Shhhh… It's okay." Hiccup tried a second time, and to his slight surprise, Snotlout accepted the motion, allowing Hiccup to gently move his arm forward until his hand rested on the Nightmare's snout. Snotlout was amazed; the dragon hadn't tried gobbling his arm up yet, but quite the contrary, it seemed to _enjoy_ the contact!

Hiccup slowly walked away, and Snotlout, still pumped on adrenaline, nearly panicked. "Where you going?!"

Hiccup grabbed the lengths of rope laying in a bucket fashioned from what used to be the arms stand. "You're gonna need something to help you hold on." It was evident that the others had already been introduced to the other dragons in the arena, seeing as how they were all ready and waiting for the group.

* * *

The shore was a flurry of activity, as the Viking tribe set up traps, spike, made spears, fashioned catapults, prepared incendiary, and used any measure they could to prepare for the conclusion of their war with the dragons. Stakes were driven into the ground as a defensive barrier was created.

Stoick used a stick to draw a line in the sand. "When we crack this mountain open, all hell is going to break loose." He pointedly ignored Gobber's obligatory undergarment humor, and he strode forward. "No matter how this ends, it ends today." He raised his hand and curled his fingers into a tight fist, the signal to begin, and the munitions were launched into the gigantic face of the mountain at speed.

Several of them hit the same area, and the weakness became exposed enough that another rock was enough to crumble it, revealing one of the underground tunnels under the mountain. Stoick confidently stepped forward and onto the rubble, shield and axe in hand.

He decided the view of the _hundreds_ of dragons he got as a flaming catapult was launched into the hole was only _slightly_ chilling. Several of the dragons screeched as the flaming boulder passed them by.

Stoick let out a war cry and charged into the hole, swinging his axe every which way in an attempt to hit _something_ as the dragons rapidly fled the nest for the open sky, the other tribemates doing the same. However, none of the blows landed, from _anyone_, and within fifteen seconds, the entire hold was cleared of dragons.

On the main longboat, Toothless shrunk into his restraints in fear, knowing whatever could make several hundred dragons _bigger_ than him flee in terror at once was truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Is that it?" Gobber asked, confused.

As one of the Vikings shouted victory and the entire tribe started cheering, Stoick felt _something_ shift in the very rocks, something unnatural. Turning his gaze back to his longboat to verify his suspicions, he noticed Toothless struggling to break free of the restraints, desperately, and failing. "This isn't over! Form your ranks! Hold together!"

A _massive_, earth-shaking roar shoved its way out of the hole, one so powerful the sheer sound waves alone nearly knocked some of the less hardy Vikings off their feet, and the stone beneath them _cracked_, the jagged splits moving quickly toward them as Stoick and the others fled back to shore.

Stoick and Gobber turned around, only to find by far the _largest dragon they'd ever seen_. "Beard of Thor, _what is that?!_" Gobber was astonished.

In that moment, Stoick realized he was wrong. Even through all the stubbornness, Hiccup- his own _son_ – had been right all along. This was a new, terrifying breed of monster their whole tribe couldn't take down, a literal lost cause if he'd ever seen or been in one. "_Odin help us_," he whispered in a cracked voice, his eyes wide.

But damn if he wouldn't try. "Catapults!" On command, the catapults fired a round of stone, but the rocks were completely ineffective against the gigantic monster, and it crushed an entire catapult with its jaws.

The crew desperately ran for the ships upon the suggestions of multiple Vikings, but by this point, Stoick had put two and two together: if the dragon was _that_ big and had flames proportional to any other dragon, the entire _fleet_ was about to go up in flames. "No! _No!_"

And just as he'd feared, set ablaze the entire fleet was. Toothless panicked, now entirely in fear of his life. The Alpha race of dragons had just been awakened, and he was on a combusting ship that was going to burst into tinders any second and cause him to fall into the water to drown.

"Heh, smart, that one," Gobber idly commented.

"I was a fool." Stoick turned to one of his seniors as he ran up. "Lead the others to the far side of the island!"

"Right!"

"Gobber, go with the men."

"I think I'll stay, just in case you're thinking of doing something crazy." Gobber immediately retorted.

"I can buy them a few minutes if I give that thing someone to hunt."

Stoick went to pull away, but his arm landed in Gobber's not-prosthetic arm, and he clasped Stoick hand, a stone-walled expression on his face. "Then I can double that time."

Stoick and Gobber turned to face what they knew would be their final battle. Stoick ran forward. "Here!" he screamed, trying to get the dragon's attention.

"Ohoho, no! Here!" Gobber screamed as he went to assist, not intent on letting Stoick one-up him.

Stoick ran forward, pulling one of the wooden stakes out of the ground with a single arm and fluidly throwing it straight up to the dragon. It did nothing aside from giving the dragon a new target to focus on, which was exactly what Stoick had intended. "Fight me!"

"No, me!" Gobber screamed just as loudly, now that the two men had the dragon's full attention… which was stolen away by a massive explosion near its back sending it stumbling forward.


	10. 10: End of the Dragon War

**Yep, we're back now. Took three and a half weeks to get the new stuff settled in, and quite a lot of things, both good and bad, have happened, but I'm back and ready to do some more writing!**

**On another note, congratulations to not only myself, but the hundreds of thousands of authors of stories on **_**Archive of Our Own**_** for pushing us into the mainstream audience far enough that our community won the nomination for the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Related Work at Worldcon in Dublin! And here's to many more years of amazing stories!**

**Chapter 10: End of the Dragon War**

Stoick's eyes widened when _Hiccup_ of all people came up behind the dragon in the wake of the explosion, riding a Nadder alongside Astrid. Behind him and to the sides, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Thorston twins rode in, riding a Gronckle, Monstrous Nightmare, and Hideous Zippleback, respectively.

"Alright, Fish, Snot, get in the dragon's blind spot, and _make some noise!_ Try to throw its aim off and toward the sky! We can't have it throwing ammo and hitting the villagers!" Fishlegs and Snotlout nodded, their faces possessed by stone resolution, and issued orders to their own dragons as they flew toward the Green Death's head.

"Ruff, Tuff, we need to find out if the Green Death's got a shot limit! Make it _mad_." The Twins did the same, flying off on the Zippleback, but they started fighting amongst themselves, as they were wont to do. "_Don't fight each other!_ We can't let everyone die!" Somehow, _somehow_, the Twins stopped arguing and turned to the dragon. Stoick knew why. Hiccup's voice carried the kind of steel that was only present in the direst of times, when everything was at stake. He knew because that same steel had only entered his own voice _the day he'd become chief._ _I was wrong… all this time. _

Gobber turned to Stoick, laughing as he shook his prosthetic arm. "Well, he's every bit the stubborn bull-headed Viking you ever were!"

_I see that now… Hiccup, I'm sorry._ Stoick immediately knew what needed to be done. If Hiccup and the groups of teens had managed to, by Thor's hammer, _tame dragons_, there was no way they weren't winning this battle, but the first thing they needed to have to win was _space_.

"Get the others out of here! Gobber, follow me! We're heading with the others!" Stoick shouted as the villagers started running toward the other end of the island and away from the battle at hand.

"What the-?!" Gobber exclaimed in bafflement as he nearly tripped over his prosthetic leg and fell into the sand. "Stoick, I've known yeh a long time, and you ain't _never_ run from a fight? What's going through that thick skull o' yers, eh?"

"Look at 'im, Gobber." Gobber turned his gaze to Hiccup as he flew toward the burning ship that held Toothless, and he could _see_ the steel in the boy's eyes, a fire that refused to be put out. It was that same fire that had made Stoick infamous all throughout the Isles and given him the nickname of _the Vast_. He instantly knew the reason Stoick had made his choice. "I discarded him without thinking about what I was walking all of Berk into, and now _he's_ the one saving _us_."

Gobber gulped and turned back to Stoick. "Alright, Stoick, I'll trust you. Yeh ain't never steered us wrong before." He turned back to some of the villagers who had stubbornly decided to stay behind. "Alright, all hands, it's time to flee! Hiccup and the others have got this!"

Hiccup jumped off the Nadder, who Astrid had chosen to gift the name Stormfly, and rolled as he hit the deck of the sinking ship. He ran as fast as he could. "Toothless!"

He got to where Toothless was, and Toothless gave a low growl of uncertainty. Hiccup shook his head as he went to try pulling off the extremely heavy binds, but he couldn't. Suddenly, a stray bolt from the Green Death struck the ship and turned it into splinters.

Toothless roared in fear as he sank into the water, rapidly sinking. "No! _Toothless!_" Hiccup dived straight into the water, not caring about how cold the water was or about his own safety. He _had_ to save Toothless.

Suddenly, a white _blur_ shot into the water behind him, and he turned a grateful gaze to Blu, whose eyes were narrowed, the same fire that he'd seen in Toothless' eyes when he'd saved him from the Nightmare blazing in them.

Together, Hiccup and Blu, despite their bodies fighting against them as they quickly developed hypothermia, tried as hard as they could to free Toothless, who was now mewling in fear and shivering in the nearly-frozen water.

However, after a solid minute of trying to free Toothless and having no success, the two ran out of air. They kept going to try freeing Toothless, and eventually, to Toothless' mounting horror, their grip slipped and they lost consciousness as they drowned.

Suddenly, Jewel and Stoick dived into the water, grabbing Blu and Hiccup and dragging them back to shore, causing the two to sputter as they desperately clawed at their throats, purging the saltwater that had nearly killed them.

Stoick turned a grateful, meaningful gaze to Jewel, before turning around and, without hesitation, diving back into the water to save Toothless.

Hiccup managed to get in a breath and got the rest of the water out of his system. "Dad?!"

Stoick swam quickly toward Toothless, and the two shared a meaningful glance, before Stoick, in a marvelous display of strength, _ripped_ off every single bind, including the massive collar around Toothless' neck, and Toothless shot out of the water, dragging Stoick with him and putting him gently on the bank as he jumped to the outcropping next to Hiccup as he stood up, fighting off the hypothermia.

Toothless growled and jerked his head in the direction of the Green Death, and Hiccup smirked as he went to climb into the saddle. "You got it, bud."

"Wait!" Hiccup and Toothless turned to Stoick as he caught his breath. "Hiccup… I'm sorry… for what I said… I'm _proud_ to call you my son."

A tear escapes Hiccup's wide eyes, before he sniffled – _due to the cold_, he told himself – and nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

"Kick that thing's ass."

Hiccup nodded, and Stoick could easily see the fire that was in Hiccup's eyes. No doubt he'd one day make a great Chief. "That's the plan." He climbed onto Toothless, quickly securing himself. "Alright, bud, let's go!"

As Hiccup and Toothless shot into the sky, Blu and Jewel in hot pursuit, a lone tear fell from Stoick's eyes, one he didn't bother wiping away. _Kill that dragon, son_.

As Toothless flew toward the raging battle, Hiccup noticed Astrid helping Snotlout out of a bind. It seemed that his and Fishlegs' attempts to distract the Green Death had, in a not-entirely-unexpected twist of fate, disoriented their own dragons, causing them to drop out of the sky.

Perfect example, Meatlug, who dropped like a stone. "Mayday! Dragon going down!" Fishlegs warned anyone that might have been below as he crashed into the sandy shores of the island. He shot up as soon as he was able, his arms in the air. "I'm okay!" That lasted less than a second, when Meatlug collapsed onto him from behind, still dazed. Fishlegs groaned from his new position under his Gronckle. "Less okay," came his muffled voice.

Hiccup turned around in his saddle and threw his voice to get the macaws' attention. "Blu, I need you to help Astrid and Snotlout, and do some damage to that dragon, if you can! Jewel, head back down and help Fishlegs and Meatlug back into the fight!" The two macaws nodded, Blu increasing his speed as he darted out in front of Toothless, his new target dead ahead.

Snotlout used his hammer and swung it like a sling whenever one of the Green Death's eyes opened. "Hah hah! Not so tough now, huh?" The Green Death roared and jerked its head suddenly to the side, flinging Snotlout off and sending him flying. Hookfang, his Nightmare, was too disoriented to fly after him.

Blu saw this and put on a burst of speed as he pulled a tight turn to catch Snotlout before he could hit the ground. He noticed the same white light Jewel had told him about being emitted from the back of his body and wings as he snapped Snotlout out of the air. He used as much of his strength to haul Snotlout onto his back, and the stubborn Viking quickly figured out the message, climbing up onto Blu's back.

As they flew, Blu turned his gaze upward. "Listen up, Snotlout! We're going to make another pass at the dragon, and I need you to hit its eyes as much as you can!" Snotlout mumbled incoherent rabble as he looked at Blu in shock. "_Focus!_ The dragon might have gotten rid of you, but it won't be getting rid of me. We need to do as much damage as we can so the others can bring that hulking beast down!"

Jewel landed gracefully in front of Meatlug, who was trying to roll over so he could let Fishlegs out from under him. Jewel used her wings to grab Meatlug and slowly, but surely, help the Gronckle roll over. Fishlegs darted out the first chance he had, his face a little blue, as he gasped for air

Snotlout, still understandably dazed from hearing a _talking bird_, nodded as he gripped Blu's feathers tighter, and the two banked back around until they were aimed straight for the dragon.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless shot out of the upper atmosphere, gaining speed incredibly quickly as they dived down toward the Green Death. "Alright, let's do this, bud!"

As they dropped through for a pass around, Toothless shot one of his signature oxyacetylene plasma charges at the Green Death's face, causing it to roar in pain. Toothless banked hard left to avoid crashing into the volcano, then turned around for another pass, not noticing the Green Death jerk violently, roaring as it knocked the rest of his friends out of the sky.

As they came through for their second pass and Toothless shot another charge at the Green Death, it unfurled a massive pair of wings spanning a distance equal to the height of the volcano itself. Hiccup nodded resolutely. "Alright, so it's got wings. Let's see if it can used them."

After another two passes in which the dragon became angrier and angrier, Blu watched in horror, Snotlout looking at the scene in shock, as it _defied physics_ by using its wings to actually get itself in the air. He gulped loudly. "I really hope Hiccup and Toothless know what they're doing."

Hiccup noticed the Green Death following them at a speed _far_ too high for a dragon its size. "Alright, come on, bud! We can do this!" The two continued flying straight up into the sky, higher and higher, as the Green Death chased after them, growling in rage.

Eventually, the three ended up in a large, several-cubic-kilometer stretch of blank sky unaffected by the massive thunderstorm around them, and Hiccup and Toothless dodged the Green Death trying to literally bite them out of the sky, before coming around for a pass, Toothless shooting another charge at its face, causing it to roar in pain.

Back down on the island, the citizens of Berk and Hiccup's friends watched the battle as best they could. Only briefly flashing silhouettes of the Green Death could be seen, obscured as the battle was by the looming thunderstorm – _a supercell_, Blu idly noted.

The Green Death had had enough of the two little meat snacks insulting it and causing it pain, and roared, shooting out a massive jet of fire as it twisted and contorted its body, forcing Hiccup and Toothless into desperate evasive maneuvers.

On the ground, Blu scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Pfft, Spread Gun much?" Jewel gave him a sideways glance, but shrugged and turned back to the sky battle.

Right as the dragon's fire ran out, Hiccup patted Toothless' head, and the Night Fury knew exactly what to do. They banked down and shot down through the sky, the Green Death chasing after them. Hiccup carefully observed the Green Death's mouth as they flew, and when he saw the dragon gathering gas for another gout of fire, he jerked the saddle _hard_. "Now, Toothless!"

Toothless sharply turned out of his dive and shot one of his strongest charges right into the Green Death's mouth, and the dragon instinctively snapped its jaw closed. _Big mistake_, Toothless noted, as the gas violently exploded inside the Green Death's stomach. Now being mostly dead weight, the dragon fell out of the sky, and its jaw opened of its own accord, sending an inordinate amount of fire all around them.

Hiccup and Toothless' eyes widened in horror, before Toothless banked up, shooting alongside the Green Death's falling body and racing through the spikes to keep himself and Hiccup out of harm's way.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Toothless took one of the turns just a _little_ too sharply, and Hiccup was sent careening out of the saddle, instantly knocked out cold, after he hit one of the spikes on the Green Death's back.

Toothless' eyes widened in horror. He banked down, darting toward Hiccup's falling body as fast as he had ever flown as he fell into the expansive fire. "_Hiccup, no!"_

Just in time, Toothless made it to Hiccup, and he wrapped his wings around Hiccup, shielding him from the damage as he roared in almost unimaginable pain. Unable to control his descent, he slammed into the sandy beach, kicking up a massive cloud of sand and dirt.

The villagers ran to the site of the crash, and as the dust cleared, and a single ray of light shone down from the sky to land on Toothless' unmoving body, Stoick ran forward, tears in his eyes, and collapsed in heartbroken shock next to Toothless' body. _"I did this,_" he hoarsely whispered, his voice cracking.

Near the front of the gathering, Astrid shoved her way through the villagers, only to stop once she could see Stoick on his hands and knees next to Toothless' body. _Oh gods, no… Hiccup… You… You can't be…_

Toothless blearily squinted his eyes open to find Stoick on his hands and knees next to him, and Stoick noticed the dragon, casting a forlorn and destroyed gaze to the Night Fury. _He probably thinks Hiccup is dead_, Toothless idly thought.

Toothless groaned in pain as he slowly lifted his wings to reveal an unconscious Hiccup, his left leg awkwardly bent at an angle that let everyone who could see know that it was broken. The purple discoloration also meant there was major internal damage, meaning the limb would have to be amputated.

Stoick looked at Toothless a second time, then grabbed Hiccup's body, raising the young man's chest to his ears, and he was relieved and ecstatic to discover there was a heartbeat. Faint though it may have been, it was still there. "Oh gods… Thank you… he's alive. You saved my son!"

Toothless did his level best to grin at Stoick, before the pain and exhaustion caught up to him, and he collapsed to the ground, slowly drifting off into unconsciousness amid the villagers' cheers.


End file.
